Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Systematic Erosion of Workers' Rights and Holidays at the EPO Goes Years Back

And Christoph Ernst ought to restore and recognise Reformation Day 2017 at the EPO

EPO letter regarding holidays



Summary: The legitimacy of the staff's concerns at the EPO, having seen basic labour safeguards being shredded to pieces by Battistelli for a number of years (predating even the escalation of the conflict)

THE legacy of Battistelli as President of the EPO isn't just brain drain, poor quality of EPs, and serious damage to reputation.



The erosion in pay and career paths, combined with depression and sometimes suicides, will continue to haunt the Office. SUEPO warned about this years ago [PDF], but that fell on deaf ears and the only outcome was the sacking of SUEPO leaders. Recently, Battistelli had yet more holidays called off simply because that suits him (and his right-hand bulldog said it would increase "productivity").

"Will the rule of law be enforced and will it be recognised that Battistelli cannot simply 'rob' the staff (their rights, their rest days) for the sake of "productivity"?"Well now, with a German at the helm, will any of this change? Will the rule of law be enforced and will it be recognised that Battistelli cannot simply 'rob' the staff (their rights, their rest days) for the sake of "productivity"? Ernst has an opportunity to intervene before it's too late, at the very least as a goodwill gesture to staff in Germany (Munich, Berlin).

Earlier this morning someone posted/approved this comment at IP Kat

Now that the EPO has a German chairman, will there be a different (even If only temporary ) approach to being so UP promoting??


As we wrote a very long time ago, Ernst has a hand in the UPC too, so we doubt he'll just unilaterally walk away from it, the constitutional challenge notwithstanding.

If he is truly toothless a Chairman, who is as subservient to Battistelli as Kongstad was, he'll probably neither say nor do anything.

The bizarre situation of Battistelli controlling the Council isn't new. It's like the overseer of Battistelli became his lapdog, sometimes because Battistelli showered some nations (typically smaller ones) with Office money.

The situation was never this bad. Staff representatives already pointed this out to the Council 3 years ago ahead of its quarterly meeting, chaired by Kongstad. To quote the letter in full:

Zentraler Vorstand . Central Executive Committee . Bureau Central

su14216cl 8 October 2014

To the members of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation

Increased legal uncertainty surrounding decisions of the Administrative Council of the EPO

Dear Sir, Madam,

In our letter of 3 March 2014, we have informed you1 about the legal risks taken by the Organisation when introducing unilaterally – and against the reasoned opinion of the Staff Representation – substantial changes to the Service Regulations.

It is our responsibility to draw your attention to new facts that further question the legal validity of many decisions taken by the Administrative Council in the recent past.

Since 2012 Mr Battistelli has been appointing the Vice-Presidents of the Office (VPs) to the General Advisory Committee (GAC). The Staff Representation warned the Office that this was probably unlawful, to no avail. GAC members filed Internal Appeals against this decision. The Internal Appeals Committee (IAC) recently decided on the matter and unanimously considered that appointing VPs to the GAC in 2012 and 2013 was against the Service Regulations in force. The IAC further discussed the legal consequences, i.e. whether all decisions following GAC consultations in 2012 and 2013 should be quashed or not, and had a split opinion in this respect.

The President, who took the challenged decision in the first place, disagreed with the opinion of the IAC and rejected the appeal. The matter will thus be referred to the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organisation (ILO-AT) that will issue its judgement in a few years’ time.

________

1 Letter to AC Delegations ref. su14037cl dated 3 March 2014 concerning the reform “Social Democracy”.




Should the Tribunal, as we deem likely, concur with the unanimous opinion of the IAC, it could decide to quash all decisions of the AC that followed GAC consultations since 20122, including CA/D 2/14 that led to the creation of the new framework for social dialogue labelled “social democracy”, and to the body which replaces the GAC in that new framework, namely, the General Consultative Committee (GCC), to which the President has again appointed VPs.

After the doubts cast in 2010 on the legal validity of Ms Brimelow’s pension reform 3, you may have hoped of not being confronted with even larger legal issues created by the Office. Not only several past decisions of the AC (since 2012) are now put into question, but also future ones.

The reputation of the Organisation is at stake. Solutions can be found before the Tribunal rules on the matter. Be assured that SUEPO is – as ever – willing to develop them together with management.

Yours faithfully,

SUEPO Central

________ 2 It is likely that the appeal against the 2014 appointments of VPs to the GAC will receive the same opinion from the IAC. 3 Cf. Opinion of the Internal Appeals Committee on CA/D 17/08. The case is now pending in front of the ILO-AT.


Who runs today's Organisation? Does the Organisation manage the Office or does the 'king' of the Office manage the Organisation still?

How can Battistelli just deny staff's rights? He's likely doing this unlawfully, probably without any consultation with -- or authorisation from -- the Council, having nonchalantly decided to call off public holidays.

Reformation Day 2017 is at the end of this month, but Battistelli decided to call it off. Will Ernst intervene? Will he signal to staff that Battistelli is no longer a 'king' (in his own mind)? What we have seen so far isn't reassuring. Ernst is too weak.

Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM Has Taken Control of GNOME
Don't expect a successor to be found any time soon
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, August 30, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, August 30, 2025
 
Links 31/08/2025: Baggage Claim Scams, an Insurrectionist’s War on Culture, and a Sudden Robotics Hype
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/08/2025: Reviewing Netsurf and Slightly Less Historic Ada Design
Links for the day
Links 31/08/2025: Google Gmail Data Breach and LF Puff Pieces for Pay
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
This is What Google News Has Become
Moments ago
The Slopfarm WebProNews Has Turned Google News Into a Laughing Stock Full of Plagiarism by Slop
If Google News dies of neglect, that's one thing. It's starting to seem like active neglect by Google is a form of participation.
Do What is Moral, as What's Legal Isn't Always Moral
Do what's objectively moral, no matter the costs and the risks
Slopwatch: Google News Assisting Plagiarism and Anti-Linux FUD, Serial Slopper Rips Off Linux-Centric Journalists
This makes the Web a much worse place and lessens the incentive to do journalism
Links 30/08/2025: NVIDIA Fakes Results to Hide a Bubble Already in Implosion Phase, Data Breaches Galore, Important Win for Workers' Union in Canada
Links for the day
Representing and Speaking for Animals
If I ever choose to take this matter to tribunal with animals-centric NGOs on my side, it'll get some press coverage for sure
The UEFI 9/11 - Part II - Campaign of Censorship and Defamation Against Critics
In dictatorships, humour serves an important role. It's tragic.
In Kazakhstan, Yandex Estimated to be 20 Times Bigger Than Microsoft
Bing is measured as down this month
Shutterstock Not Enough? The Register MS Uses Slop Images in Articles (Seemingly More and More Over Time)
Cost-saving trajectory amid office shutdown?
Gemini Links 30/08/2025: Games, PostmarketOS, and Slop
Links for the day
Links 30/08/2025: Imgur Uproar and Many Ukraine Updates (Mediazona Reports Over 200,000 Russians Died for Putin)
Links for the day
How Not to Build Software
code forges that need a Web browser perhaps fill some 'niche' demand
GAFAM and "MATA"
The use of dark humour there hopefully helps illuminate what a lot of "modern" technology became like and how it interacts with human civilisation (to what ends and whose gain)
Birds Are Not "Pests and Vermin", Privacy is Not a Crime, and GNU/Linux is Not 'Hacking Platform'
I could not help but think of Free software analogies
The Sites Should Be Very Fast Again
That issue is now resolved
Flying in 2025
worse than ever before
Activists, Including Technical Activists, Need Not Pursue Affirmation
Techrights doesn't play or participate in a "popularity contest"
The UEFI 9/11 - Part III - Chaos is Scheduled to Happen Second Thursday of September (No Matter What the Microsofters Tell You)
The clock is ticking
Downplaying the Impact of "UEFI 9/11" is a Losing Strategy
we won't publish much whilst on holiday
Government Sites Should Run Free Software
Not proprietary bloatware with buzzwords
LLM Slopfarms Take No Breaks
When people run sites by bots they don't need to worry about "breaks"
GNOME Having a Meltdown Again
Thanks and farewell to Steven Deobald
Gemini Links 30/08/2025: Low Tech and Hunchbin 1.0.6
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 29, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 29, 2025
Financiers and Sponsors of the Slop Hype (Pyramid Scheme Waiting to End, Bubble That Will Inevitably Implode)
It's also burning the planet
Slopwatch: Fake Articles About "Linux", Google Helps Ponzi Schemes and Slopfarms in Google News
Slopfarms are a real pain
Gemini Links 29/08/2025: Retiring at 62 and URL Filtering HTTP(S) Proxy on Qubes OS
Links for the day
Links 29/08/2025: Lisa Cook Sues Convicted Felon and Backdoor Mandate in UK Resisted
Links for the day
Links 29/08/2025: Arti 1.5.0, War on Public Health (CDC), and Slop 'Bros' Made to Pay for Their Mass Plagiarism
Links for the day
No, 4Chan is Not Fighting for You by Lawyering Up Against Ofcom (UK)
Don't mistake proto-fascists for people who "fight for you". They don't.
In Many Places in the World Vista 11 "Market Share" is Going Down, Not Up
In some countries Windows is already down to third place or lower
More Microsoft-Connected Layoffs, at Least Third Time This Month! (Also Another Death on Campus)
Microsoft as a "gaming" company is where studios, projects, games, and even developers come to die
Slopwatch: Fake Articles About "Linux", Slop Images in VentureBeat, Linux Foundation Spam Made With LLM Slop and Slop Images
The only relief or upside - if any exists - is that the pace of slop was down a bit this week
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 28, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 28, 2025
Gemini Links 29/08/2025: Poems, Games, and Java 25 Performance
Links for the day