Union for Staff of the EPO Has New Headquarters in Rijswijk (NL)
THE positive thing about coverage of EPO affairs is that we share or relay plenty of information about labour regulations/rights/safeguards/laws, not only in relation to Europe (the EPO is an international organisation, despite its name).
The recent General Assembly spoke about overwork, which is an occupational health hazard (they're grossly understaffed, according to insiders). So a staff union is very much necessary. They need their collective power to fight back and uphold rules associated with workers' protections. Benoît Battistelli tried to 'dismantle' the union by attacking its leadership and António Campinos took a long time to obey ILOAT on this matter. Worse yet, he signaled to one of them that he might as well leave the Office 'voluntarily' (another one had already retired after that; the former is I.B., the latter is E.H.).
We want to cover some newer EPO issues, so as one last 'departing gift', here's a gem about "new headquarters" announced by SUEPO's Dutch branch half a year ago:
We are excited to announce the opening of our new headquarters, and we cordially invite you to join us for a special celebration!
New Headquarters Address: De Bruyn Kopsstraat 15, 2288 EC Rijswijk
There's nothing secret about it. It looks like a decent building.
The party they the was also mentioned in the news digest at the time:
SUEPO TH digest - September 2023
Dear members, dear colleagues,
Please find below the SUEPO TH September 2023 digest:
Employment Law:
Request for review lack of rewards – earliest deadlines mid-September:
The career system may have been deemed legal by the ILOAT, but it still feels unfair to a large number of colleagues. If you have not received a career advancement or bonus in July 2023 and either received a good performance report for 2022 or contested your 2022 report, you have a chance of reversing the decision and receiving a step or promotion with retroactive effect. To do so you need to first file a request for review [...] until 3 months following the earliest of the following 2 dates: when your manager called you to announce the decision, or the 26th of July (July 2023 payslip). Then you will need to file an internal appeal. [...]
Pending complaints on the New Career System (NCS):
If you have a complaint pending in front of the ILOAT regarding the career system and have received an email from the Tribunal asking you to let them know by 15.09 whether you wish to withdraw it, we advise all complainants NOT to reply to the email – the Tribunal will hence automatically consider that your complaint is maintained. No action from your side is needed. [...]
Formalities Team Managers treated differently:
Team Managers functional allowances will be doubled in recognition of their efforts and resilience over the recent years – but not for Formality Team Managers! We have not yet received a reply from the administration concerning this difference in treatment. Staff in this situation has the right to challenge this decision by initiating a request for review (RfR) until October 3rd. [...]
5th October: save the date for the SUEPO Office warming party!
The SUEPO office is changing location to de Bruyn Kopsstraat 15, unit 1.11 at the end of September, and we have been busy organising and coordinating the move.
On the 5th of October there will be celebrations at the EPO for the 50 years anniversary of the EPC. Our union, our members and the EPO staff have been an essential element in the survival – and success – of the EPC.
To celebrate this, please attend the “office warming party” on that day (5.10) from 16:30 – please register [...] so that we can plan enough space and refreshments.
OHS
Recruitment of an additional full time occupational nurse in TH is urgently needed – [...]
Digital SUEPO:
EasyVerein self-management portal for members:
SUEPO TH has been fine tuning the new self-management portal powered by easyVerein© - a special thank you goes to our IT webmaster and the volunteer testers! Soon, you'll be able to manage your membership data and access event info through personal accounts. Stay tuned for more details.
- SUEPO app:
Some of our members have already installed the beta version of the SUEPO app and we have been working on getting it ready for the upcoming official launch for members and guests in MU and TH. Once the Apple registration process is complete and the app is officially available for download from the Apple Store, you'll have direct access to secure, and spam-free communication, ensuring you never miss important updates.
On our radar:
“Supporting employees through the menopause”: these articles originate from a for profit care organisation, but still seem to offer valuable insight;
On Friday September 22nd, the Dutch Union FNV Climate Network is co-organising an action in Rotterdam to demand an end to the use of coal and a just transition for workers in the industry, see here for more details.
Kind regards,
Your SUEPO TH committee
[...]
There's more above that might be of interest (we've redacted some text and links). It would be nice to see SUEPO transitioning to real standards such as Open Document Format (ODF) for those who opt/choose to use Free software. It's also truly a shame that SUEPO uses Microsoft ASP/.NET for its site and MS Teams to stream meetings. Whose decision was this? When was the decision made? The EPO works closely with Microsoft, so these decisions can severely weaken the union. Microsoft is the secret weapon of the EPO's management; it's spying on everything. █