Bonum Certa Men Certa

EPO an Ill Organisation, Lots to Protest Against Tomorrow

Cross section of Team Battistelli: Željko Topić, Benoît Battistelli, and Elodie Bergot

MoU signed by Bergot



Summary: A look at the ill aspects of EPO mistreatment of staff representatives, who are viewed as enemies (for saying the truth) rather than partners and are punished severely for exercising their rights

THERE IS an EPO protest tomorrow and we hope that thousands will attend to send out a strong message a month ahead of the next Administrative Council meeting, which would end the Battistelli reign if it actually wanted to end the crisis.



Staff is sick of the management and sometimes literally sick. This one new comment says: "Indeed in TH [The Hague] in particular one SUEPO official and central staff rep is currently being hit very hard with a cut of 100% of his remuneration since beginning 2016 by decision of PD 43 (Mrs Bergot the spouse of Battistelli right-arm Requena) who decided to disregard the from his physician duly established medical certificates. After having abolished occupational disease, Bergot is now abolishing sickness altogether.... Let us hope this will not generate a new drama (eg suicide)" (sixth in recent years).

"The "disciplinary sanctions and proceedings against staff or trade union representatives" in the above resolution," Merpel wrote earlier tonight, "refers to the fact that three of the 10 staff representatives have been singled out for disciplinary proceedings, resulting in the sacking of two and the downgrading of another in January 2016. Merpel understands that two others are also facing disciplinary proceedings. One of the staff representatives who was dismissed, Elizabeth Hardon who is the chair of SUEPO Munich, additionally had her pension docked; however this further sanction was removed following an internal appeal."

Well, we covered this before, also in Spanish. But the interesting bit there is the disciplinary proceeding against "10 staff representatives" (this is similar to the figure we're aware of). Bergot must be rather afraid of any of the staff representatives (not from the yellow union that reportedly hangs out with her) because she probably got her job only because of nepotism and if outside scrutiny was to be applied, not only she would risk her job but also her husband and his old buddy, Battistelli, who put them there in the first place (building his circle of loyal drones).

Bergot was also mentioned in an internal communication not too long ago, in relation to how she put her paws on everyone's medical records (as unbelievable as it may seem in a civilised country):

Confidentiality of staff medical data

In the January Gazette (page 20-21) the Office announced a restructuring of the medical departments, bringing the Medical Advisory Unit and Occupational Health Department under a common director, within the HR Department, i.e. under Ms Bergot. The Gazette article hails the restructuring as a “prescription for clarity and best duty of care”. As usual with the Battistelli administration, the reality is just the opposite:

(a) Because of their very different roles, having the Medical Advisory Unit (advising the administration in medical decisions) and the Occupational Health Services (meant to support staff) in a single unit is anything but best practice.

(b) The Occupational Health Physician is supposed to be independent. Having the Occupational Health Physician within the Personnel Department with Ms Bergot as his/her reporting officer is not to best way to guarantee independence.

(c) Since Dr Koopman left in summer 2014, the Medical Advisory Unit (MAU) is headed by a non-medical person originally recruited to VP4’s office and who is now reporting to Ms Bergot. This construct means that the confidentiality of medical data stored in the Medical Advisory Unit, in particular vis-à-vis the Personnel Department (Ms Bergot), is no longer guaranteed.

(d) Under the new structure, the same will apply for the Occupational Health Department. It seems highly likely that the current interim manager will become director of the newly created medical unit. The EPO’s current medical doctors will no longer have a managerial role but will be reporting to the Director and merely advising him/her as “medical experts”.

Such a structure would not seem legal in any of our host states. We suppose that this does not bother Mr Battistelli. But it should bother our medical doctors who – according to our understanding – are precluded from entering data in medical files held by the department if confidentiality cannot be guaranteed.


We already knew that some French people were getting their hands on confidential staff details, but not medical records. As a reminder see:

  1. Jacques Michel (Former EPO VP1), Benoît Battistelli's EPO, and the Leak of Internal Staff Data to Michel's Private Venture
  2. Europatis: “Turnover of €211,800 and Zero Employees”
  3. Loose Data 'Protection' and Likely Privacy Infringements at the EPO: Here's Who Gets Employees' Internal Data
  4. Summary of the EPO-Europatis Series
  5. Revolving Doors of High-Level EPO Management: Jacques Michel and the Questel Deal With the EPO


In our humble assessment, Bergot and her confidants (who are afraid of SUEPO) may be using "illness" selectively as a weapon against dissidents among staff or against 'unwanted' staff (not for technical but for purely political reasons), where illness itself can be induced by chronic abuse (cause for depression, breakdowns and so on).

Don't make up with the management. It's only getting a lot worse over time. A massive protest is needed tomorrow to reassure the Administrative Council that nothing has changed for the better and to also attract media attention, French (political) interventions, etc.

Recent Techrights' Posts

On the Internet, Nobody Knows Microsoft and Windows Are Becoming Niche Players Until Data is Shown Correctly, Not Microsoft-Sponsored Articles in Microsoft Publishers
Microsoft controls a lot of publishers and thus it controls information
 
Financing of the "Hey Hi" (AI) Bubble by Those Who Profit From Planetary Destruction (Global Warming)
It's about personal gain, too
Richard Stallman Will Speak in Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress
it's good to see that the FSF pays considerable respect to it founder, who is moreover invited to speak at events
(At Least) Second Wave of Mass Layoffs in Microsoft This Month
This is not the first time this month that Microsoft has mass layoffs
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 20, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 20, 2025
IBM Operatives Inside The Register MS and More Shady Money to Follow
The Register MS bites every banknote it can sink its teeth into
Slopwatch: Serial Sloppers and Slopfarms in Google News (e.g. Linux Journal and WebProNews)
Google plays an active role (if not deliberately then through utter neglect and carelessness) in plagiarism
Links 20/08/2025: Mass Surveillance Framed as "Artificial Intelligence" (All Old Things Reworded to Misframe Old Computer Issues), Europe Resists Capitulation to US(SR)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/08/2025: Trips and Permacomputing
Links for the day
Links 20/08/2025: Oracle Layoffs in India, "AI" Scammers/Profiteers Admit It's a "Bubble", Softbank-Saudi (Oil) Control Tech Companies
Links for the day
Social Control Networks Give You False Metrics to 'Addict' You To Them
Leaving social control media may seem hard, but the same is true for any other addiction
A Lot of What Happened in Twitter Was Bots, Botfarms, and Troll Farms. It's Even Worse Now (Under X.com) and People Are Noticing.
Last month we said the same was happening in YouTube
Microsoft May Have Become - at Least Partially - Like a Boiler Room Scam
Giving imaginary salaries using imaginary tokens based on imaginary value (with restrictions on conversion to cash)
In Vietnam, Microsoft's Search Engine "Market Share" Fell to Almost 0%, CocCoc More Than 5 Times Bigger
Why are people still investing in this company?
All That's Left of MSNBC (Microsoft-NBC) is Microsoft NOW
When plutocrats and large corporations (even deep in debt) buy all the communication channels
The Register MS, Paid to Promote "AI" Hype, Does "Sez" (Says) Pieces
every bubble-funded "news" site tries to make it a story about "AI"
Many Companies Are Run by Liars Who Ride Other People's Money
Or steal it
Before CoreAI There Was Builder.ai
GitHub isn't about "AI" (just a bunch of lies and storytelling for shareholders' patience)
Microsoft Windows in Croatia at New Lows
We've been keeping track of this trend for a while
Using the Best Tool/s for the Job: RSS Feeds and RSS Readers
Use RSS feeds. Reject those "modern" Web things
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, August 19, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/08/2025: Neovim, XML, and Alhena 5.2.9
Links for the day
Accessibility Isn't Overrated
Making things simpler typically means better accessibility
The Register's Slopfest
Remember when The Register UK (yes, UK) had better standards?
Latest Version of Windows (Vista 11) is a Failure 4 Years After Its Fake 'Leak'
Vista 11 became more scarce this month
Improving Our Archives
Our old archives are still accessed a lot. Making them better is well worth the investment.
Things One Learns as a Litigant in Person at the UK High Court
Don't fear the official manuals
Slopwatch: Lots of Fake Articles From Fake "Linux" Sites and About "Linux"
Google says it's committed to "AI" (it means slop, not AI); that seems like an excuse to dodge accountability
Links 19/08/2025: "Eavesdropping on Phone Conversations Through Vibrations" and Air Canada in Chaos
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/08/2025: Niche Spaces and "AI Pasta Sauce"
Links for the day
Links 19/08/2025: "NASA Is Giving Up on Climate Change Science" and "Earth's Continents Are Drying Out at an Unprecedented Rate"
Links for the day
Microsoft said “GitHub and its leadership team will continue its mission as part of Microsoft’s CoreAI organisation.” But it's just an empty shell created earlier this year.
In short, it's not too clear what Microsoft has just done except dumping GitHub - i.e. mostly a Web site that loses a ton of money (it always lost money) - into some mysterious new bucket
Phil Wyett evidence & Debian Zizian plagiarism, modern slavery tendencies
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
IBM Layoffs in MCC, or Marketing, Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
IBM and Microsoft inflate their share price by circular financing
In Many Countries People Move Away From Vista 11
Vista 11 has been available for download for 4 years already, but adoption has been poor
Desktops/Laptops Fall to All-Time Lows in the UK, So Why Does British Media Quote a Famous Criminal on "End of the Smartphone Era"?
mobile usage (for Web access) has never been higher, based on an Irish surveyor, statCounter
The Groklaw Web Site Has Been Hijacked by Scammers
Groklaw.net isn't a safe site to access at this time
The Register MS gets Lazy, Uses Slop
Unlike 3-D renderings or "Classic" CG, slop images aren't quite original and definitely not fair use
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, August 18, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, August 18, 2025
Online Safety Act Does Not Tackle the Worst (and Biggest) Culprits
if our governments are serious about tackling online harms, then they need to look closely at GAFAM and social control media giants
Chat Control (1 and 2) in the European Union Sends the Wrong Message
This is an EU law
Slopwatch: Google News and Serial Sloppers (Fake Articles About "Linux")
Calling out the culprits
Gemini Links 19/08/2025: Digital Legacy and Chat Control
Links for the day