Video download link | md5sum 6e6b6b17f5c1bef3c93e2527bbb20998 The GCC Report of EPO Staff Reps Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0



Summary: The Central Staff Committee at the EPO protests proposals from António Campinos and his cronies; it asserts that "the [management of the] Office does not want to question the New Career System [a NO-Career System now, as the ILOAT will deliver in public the judgments of its 136th session on Friday 7 July 2023, including three important cases relating to the EPO’s New Career System." As a reminder, sometimes it takes ILOAT nearly a decade to strike down illegal regulations (more than 3 years -- not 3 weeks -- after the culprit, Benoît Battistelli, had already left the Office)

THERE will be some interesting news in a few weeks because the EPO, which grants European software patents (illegally) and then passes such patents for a kangaroo 'court' to judge (an illegal 'court' where 3 judges resigned before it even started!), will be judged by a court that it does not quite control, the ILOAT, but a court that sometimes take a decade to issue much-needed rulings.

"Sure, the EPO's management has a long history of disregarding or not obeying judges' decisions (or only pretending to a long time later), but that's a scandal in its own right."The latest document is half a dozen pages long. It's discussed in passing in the video above,

The Central Staff Committee's report on the GCC meeting of 1 June 2023 with annexes [PDF] was summarised as follows in a message to colleagues who had elected the Committee:

Dear colleagues,

The GCC agenda was as follows:

Periodical Review of the Service Regulations GCC/DOC 11/2023

Public Holidays 2024 GCC/DOC 12/2023

Introduction of a strategic bonus to reward achievement during current year GCC/DOC 13/2023

Healthcare Insurance figures 2022 GCC/DOC 14/2023

The first three documents were “for consultation”, the last one “for information”. We wrote reasoned opinions on the first three documents. They are appended to this full report.

Document GCC/DOC 13/2023 introducing yet another type of non-pensionable bonus is problematic:

• It signals the Office's focus on short-term contributions to management projects rather than on fulfilling the long-term core mission of the Office (which must be rewarded with pensionable promotions and step advancements).



• It looks very much like improvising a new rule in the middle of the game, in addition to the rules announced in the Guidelines on Rewards for 2023.



• In future, it will give staff opportunities twice a year to wonder why they (did not) receive a bonus, or yet another bonus. We doubt that this will contribute to social and legal peace.

We understand that the Office does not want to question the New Career System now, as the ILOAT will deliver in public the judgments of its 136th session on Friday 7 July 2023, including three important cases relating to the EPO’s New Career System. However, we expect a system in the future that shows that the Office is willing to invest in the long-term careers of its staff.

The Central Staff Committee - CSC

So some time next month we'll be able to write about the outcome from Geneva regarding the EPO's NO-Career System. We don't suppose the media will mention this (in the video I mention one blog that might mention it because of a pair of people in it), but rulings from a tribunal cannot be easily brushed aside. Sure, the EPO's management has a long history of disregarding or not obeying judges' decisions (or only pretending to a long time later), but that's a scandal in its own right. ⬆