New Publication Sheds Lights on Abuse of Workers at the European Patent Office (EPO)
The EPO's Local Staff Committee The Hague (LSCTH) has circulated a publication regarding a recent meeting "with the Administration in the Local Occupational Health, Safety and Ergonomics Committee (LOHSEC)" (covered also in February).
In the Benoît Battistelli era the health of staff severely deteriorated and nothing seems to be improving under António Campinos, who merely "normalises" the Battistelli legacy, in turn deterring any applicants that meet the requirements set forth in the European Patent Convention (EPC).
Put in simple terms, they're killing the Office, harming remaining staff, try to hire rubber-stampers who just grant loads of European software patents - i.e. patents which are both illegal and undesirable - then outsource many of the tasks to computer programs in direct defiance of the EPC. They basically automate their illegal things. Taking people "out of the loop". No accountability.
This is what LSCTH sent to colleagues:
Dear Colleagues,On 10 June 2025, Staff Representation met with the Administration in the Local Occupational Health, Safety and Ergonomics Committee (LOHSEC) in The Hague.
The meeting addressed the topics of the Occupational Health Services (OHS) staffing, the evacuation drills, ergonomics and issues with EPO facilities in The Hague.
The respective publication speaks of "ISO audit" (ISO is a sham) and says that Staff Representation (SR) "emphasized that staff may be concerned about the externalization of services and the lack of a permanent doctor."
They're also outsourcing things to slop and to Serco. The EPO illegally operates like a private company and hides illegalities from the complicit EU.
Who's going to hold them accountable? Not the media.
Here's the latest:
Staff Committee The Hague
Comité du personnel de La Haye
Personalausschuss Den HaagRijswijk, 18 July 2025
sc25010hpReport on the meeting of the LOHSEC The Hague
On 10 June 2025, Staff Representation met with the administration in the 75th Local Occupational Health, Safety and Ergonomics Committee (LOHSEC) in The Hague. The meeting addressed, amongst others, the topics of the Occupational Health Services (OHS) staffing and issues with the EPO facilities in The Hague.
During the meeting which lasted from 13.30 hrs to 14.44 hrs, the Administration presented the main points discussed in the previous meeting of the COHSEC of 4 June 2025:
• OHS reported briefly on the ISO audit, indicating that the auditor had made some observations and recommendations, but not on the topics raised by the Staff Representation. The administration didn’t develop any further.
• Staff Representation (SR) requested involvement in occupational accident investigations and workplace ergonomics visits, but the Administration indicated that these are technical and confidential refusing the request. The details are regularly shared with the LOHSEC.
• SR asked how improvements from visits are followed up in a general line and whether the visits are also evaluated qualitatively and not only quantitatively, and whether feedback is still collected.
• Administration confirmed that office-wide surveys are used for this purpose solely and that highlights from visits can be shared in the future in a report.
The following six points were brought forward by the Staff Representation:
1. Staffing and continuity of Occupational Health Services (OHS)
The Staff Representation brought forward the new staffing of OHS, in particular the new doctor and the new nurse capacity. The Office explained that the EPO operates with a service delivery model performed by an external company. A tender is being prepared for the next period and a 2-month handover period was organised between the two contract periods. The Staff representation expressed their concerns about the fluctuating capacity and rotating personnel, stressing the fact that, in view of the Staff Representation, permanent post for Health professionals working for the OHS is the only reasonable way to ensure a
proper assistance of the EPO staff in their health questions, in particular, as indicated multiple times before, because of the difficulties to accessing different healthcare services in the Netherlands.
SR explained that the service level is not the same when there is a break in continuity, as new health providers often lack the experience and familiarity with staff needs. It is hoped that the new tender procedure will take this into account, leading to a more stable team situation, which would be in the best interest of staff.
SR referred to the experience with external occupational health doctors from TÜV Rheinland in Munich, where frequent changes in doctors led to mixed results. SR considers that the current setup is an interim solution and requested that improvements be achieved in the future.
SR also noted that this situation could have been avoided if the transition following Dr. Schüder’s end of service had been prepared in time, as it had previously been advised several times by the staff representation. SR emphasized that staff may be concerned about the externalization of services and the lack of a permanent doctor.
The Office indicated that we have two health experts in The Hague to ensure continuity.
Both, the positions of the Staff Representation and the management are clear, and they are fundamentally different.
2. Building evacuation
SR reported issues encountered during the recent building evacuation drill. Not only were several elevators out of service, but a faulty card reader between two floors also caused a blockage, trapping dozens of staff in the stairwell on their way up.
The Administration confirmed that a check of the card readers has now been added to the standard preventive checks before an exercise to prevent such a coincidence of events.
3. Ergonomics in the Academy
SR raised concerns about poor ergonomics in the Academy’s large training room, based on feedback from both staff and instructors.
The Administration asked for a ServiceNow ticket to be submitted, and SR agreed to gather more details.
4. Office chairs
SR asked whether staff with specific needs could request alternatives to the standard Kinnarp chairs.
Administration confirmed that OHS can assess individual cases and recommend suitable alternatives based on medical grounds.
5. Building Facilities
SR inquired whether user input was considered in the bike shed renovation project. The Administration confirmed that the new setup will comply with Dutch accessibility standards.
SR raised concerns about toilet maintenance, particularly missing soap. They noted that staff often don’t raise tickets for such issues. The Administration explained that the soap was checked, but the mechanism was malfunctioning. In the future not only the soap content will be checked but also the functioning of the dispenser.
Administration emphasized the importance of ticketing and shared a link to ServiceNow to facilitate reporting. Issues can also be reported via serviceline@epo.org. SR agreed to help raise awareness.
SR reported issues with lift programming and display malfunctions. The Administration confirmed lifts are monitored and encouraged detailed ticket submissions for better investigation of this specific problem (where, when, what, how).
6. Office climate control
SR reported that many staff avoid working onsite due to uncomfortably low temperatures.
The Administration acknowledged the issue and assured that corrective measures and replacement parts are being implemented.
Kind regards,
Your staff representatives
That last part confirms what they cautioned about last year. They cause people to feel too cold, then fulfill their own prophecies and empty the Office. █