Occupational Health, Safety and Ergonomics Committee (LOHSEC) at the European Patent Office (EPO)
THE EPO's staff representatives in The Hague, or LSCTH for short, have just circulated a publication about the situation under António Campinos. This one focuses only on the Occupational Health, Safety and Ergonomics Committee (LOHSEC).
The message to staff said:
Dear Colleagues,On 27 May 2024, Staff Representation met with the administration in the Local Occupational Health, Safety and Ergonomics Committee (LOHSEC) in The Hague.
Among the topics addressed were the nurse capacity after the retiring of Anne and Hilde, Office-wide sickness statistics, access to GP services in The Hague, the situation of the parking capacity, the location for bicycles and the evacuation plans under the new low-presence situation in the buildings.
In particular, staff representation enquired how many nurses were working at the moment and with what presence in premises, about what the Office could do for helping new colleagues finding it difficult to register at a GP practice, enquired about the changing locations and capacity of the bicycle parking facilities and the new plans for evacuation with the low presence of evacuation wardens.
Where any bicycle parking facilities ever used by Benoît Battistelli or was some so-called 'presidential bicycle' just a 'false flag' in Munich, serving to justify Battistelli breaking the law by bringing weapons to the Office (armed guards)? It's probably too late to ask about it and nobody in EPO management ever gets punished for crimes, no matter how severe.
Anyway, here is the report, which is dated this week:
Staff Committee The Hague
Comité du personnel de La Haye
Personalausschuss Den HaagRijswijk, 11 July 2024
sc24006hpReport on the meeting of the LOHSEC The Hague
On 27 May 2024, Staff Representation met with the administration in the 71st Local Occupational Health, Safety and Ergonomics Committee of The Hague. Among the topics addressed were the nurse capacity, office-wide sickness statistics, access to GP services, the situation of the parking capacity, the location for bicycles and the evacuation plans under the new low-presence situation in the buildings.
Present members appointed by the President were F. Brunelle (Chair), F. Zacca, D. Schüder, E. Schmitz, J. de Bruin, K. Lievens, Y. Hofstede and A. Kirch.
Present members appointed by the LSCTH were I. Larrañeta Reclusa and J. Raposo.
The official minutes were taken by Anne-Cathrine Crignon and will be published subsequently here.
During the meeting which lasted from 10:30 to 11:30, the following seven points were discussed:
1. OHS reported that since the previous week, a second external nurse has joined working on Mondays and Wednesdays. This adds to the in-house nurse working four days a week and the already present first external nurse, who is working Tuesday to Thursday. It was also reported that the office-wide organized lectures on ageing and menopause were well attended.
2. OHS reported on the last office-wide sick leave statistics presented to the COHSEC. While there is a positive trend, from 12.78 total sick days per head (April 2022 – March 2023) down to 12.04 total sick days per head (April 2023 – March 2024), the level is 2 days above the pre-pandemic levels. It was reported that the number of staff who is never sick has increased. Overall, DG1 has a slightly higher level of sick leave and there is an increase in 2023 in upper limp disorders and stress related health issues.
3. The Staff Representatives pointed out that the statistics were blind to the cases of colleagues who do not register sick leave while being sick.
4. OHS indicated that there is no contract in place between any GP service provider and the EPO. It is up to the individual to find a GP. The Staff Representation is receiving feedback from new colleagues indicating that getting registered in a GP practice is becoming difficult. The administration of the EPO indicates that no specific agreement is foreseen, and that we need to adapt to this situation in the Netherlands.
5. The Staff Representation requested a plan for the foreseeable retiring of an Office doctor and the Administration indicated that this was a central topic, and therefore a point for the COHSEC.
6. New electric outlets for electric motorbikes are foreseen to be installed by the end of June, and the Administration reported that temporary measures will be put in place for bike parking during the upcoming works.
7. Following a request from the Staff Representation, the Administration confirmed that the situation of the wardens is being reassessed (less wardens present on any given day because of New Ways Of Working). The EPO premises in the Netherlands are compliant with the safety rules in the Netherlands, confirmed the Administration.
Kind regards,
Your staff representatives