Digression to Napoleonic times

The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904)

Summary: The nature of the Disciplinary Committee at the EPO explained, as it's not quite what it seems on the surface

THE EPO's extrajudicial staff purge (not fatal, but dismissal under such circumstances can destroy entire careers) is starting to look a lot worse, and it is rapidly broadening in terms of scale.

Several months ago we showed how one staff representative, a three-decade EPO veteran, was harassed by Team Battistelli. Someone has just leaked to us documents which we believe should be shared publicly (after long and careful consideration). The vicious witch-hunt against staff representatives clearly goes on unabated, in spite of many protests.

The following message has just been leaked to us:

Dear [Anonymised],

A Disciplinary Committee consists of four members, two selected by the Administration and two selected by the Staff Committee. If a case comes up, the Members of responsible Disciplinary Committee are determined by the drawing of lots out of a pool of potential nominees. The rules for nominating for these pools are, however, very restrictive and have become even more so under Mr Battistelli. The result is that in the Disciplinary Committee that will treat my case three out of the four members, including both members selected by the Staff Committee, are Principal Directors whose normal role it is to represent management rather than to represent staff. Note furthermore that Principal Directors are appointed on 5-year renewable contracts to be renewed - or not - by the President.

I have objected against the Principal Director appointed to my committee who was drawn from the pool selected by the Administration. Albeit a former Chairman of SUEPO, he is known to have strong anti-SUEPO feelings, as I experienced on more than one occasion.

Attached you will find my letter to the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee and the answer.

Elizabeth Hardon

More interesting, however, are the following redacted documents:

And then there's this:

The harder the EPO tries to crush staff and its representatives, the more it delegitimises itself. When will this insanity end? There are legitimiate criticisms which must be tackled, but the EPO's management prefers to just shoot the messengers. ⬆

“There is a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.”

--Oscar Levant