Staff of EPO Cautions Against Unlawful Weaponisation of PIPs Against Industrial Actions That Protest Corruption

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Jul 29, 2026,
updated Jul 29, 2026

PIP-like sanctions against anybody who does not toe the line of Cocaine King?

The Central Staff Committee at the EPO has contacted management and left some information for staff to see. Having spoken about EPO PIPs several times this morning, consider the upcoming performance reviews that cause anxiety. Quoting the Committee regarding a letter to "Alicante Mafia":

Open letter to VP1 and the COO

Dear Colleagues,

The Central Staff Committee (CSC) has been alerted by numerous colleagues to significant pressure exerted on them during mid-year reviews, even though it is evident that these same colleagues are participating in the ongoing industrial action.

We would like to recall that lost production on strike days cannot be expected to be recovered. Furthermore, reduced timeliness and productivity are direct consequences of colleagues’ current response to the calls from their unions.

We expect DG1 management to respect the principles repeatedly established in case law, namely that participation in collective action must not adversely affect neither the careers nor the perspective of rewards of the individuals involved, whether their union involvement is explicit or not.

In this open letter to Mr Rowan (VP1) and Mr Aledo Lopez (COO), the CSC raises concerns against staff reports containing statements constituting serious infringements of trade union freedom and remains at their disposal to consider how this exceptional year can be documented, if at all feasible.

The full letter:

European Patent Office
80298 Munich
Germany

Central Staff Committee
Comité central du personnel
Zentraler Personalausschuss

centralSTCOM@epo.org

Reference: sc26057cl

Date: 23/07/2026

European Patent Office | 80298 MUNICH | GERMANY

To: Mr Steve Rowan (Vice-President of DG1) and
Mr Angel Aledo Lopez (Chief Operating Officer)

By email:
To: vp1@epo.org, coo@epo.org

OPEN LETTER

Mid-terms reviews

Dear Mr Rowan,
Dear Mr Aledo Lopez,

We have been alerted by numerous colleagues to significant pressure exerted on them during mid-year reviews, even though it is evident that these same colleagues are participating in the ongoing industrial action.

We would like to recall that lost production on strike days cannot be expected to be recovered. Furthermore, reduced timeliness and productivity are direct consequences of colleagues’ current response to the calls from their unions.

We expect DG1 management to respect the principles repeatedly established in case law, namely that participation in collective action must not adversely affect neither the careers nor the perspective of rewards of the individuals involved, whether their union involvement is explicit or not.

For this reason, we also remind you that, as written records remain, any entry in SuccessFactors that could harm the colleagues concerned may justify conciliation procedures or even appeals. Statements such as “production (or productivity/timeliness) is below expectations” or “person X is participating in industrial action” could constitute serious infringements of trade union freedom (this list is, of course, not exhaustive). We would also like to draw your attention to the fact that line managers are only required to report that a meeting has taken place and that a performance review has been carried out. Further details are not required.

You will have noted that the unions have extended the ongoing actions until the end of the year, or at least until mid-October. We continue to believe that the best way to resolve industrial action is to sit down at the negotiating table.

However, should the action continue for such a long period, it is already time to consider how a final annual report could be established without disadvantaging colleagues. Otherwise, an unprecedented wave of conciliation procedures and litigation cases can be expected.

The Central Staff Committee therefore remains at your disposal to consider how this exceptional year can be documented, if at all feasible, in SuccessFactors.

Sincerely yours,

Derek Kelly
Chairman of the Central Staff Committee

We covered SuccessFactors before [1, 2].

It would not be unprecedented if EPO dictatorship did anything possible to crush resistance to the dictatorship. The current industrial actions already noted efforts (by the above men) to curtail them. █

The EPO is run by truly evil people who break laws all the time.