The Letter Sent to the Ringleader of the Alicante Mafia This Week
EPO staff in most critical moment since Benoît Battistelli was thrown under the bus (for EPO to be run by his friend instead)
EPO staff is on strike today and it did forewarn António Campinos in the following open letter, preceded by the introduction ("Call for industrial actions to stop the salary erosion of EPO staff").
Dear SUEPO members,
Dear Colleagues,
Following the General Assemblies held on 19 and 27 January 2026 the action plans of SUEPO The Hague and SUEPO Munich have now been both approved.
The plans include work-to-rule, demonstrations and strikes of all staff at the EPO on 30 January, 23 February, and 19 March to underscore the disapproval of staff towards the proposed new Salary Adjustment Procedure (SAP) for the period 2027-2032.
The new SAP 2027-2032 enhances the substantial and persistent erosion of salaries and pensions, caused by the SAP 2020-2026, confirmed by the EPO’s own figures, with losses of purchasing power and deviations from actuarial assumptions.
The EPO is in an excellent financial situation, produces eyewatering surpluses, the pension schemes are fully covered, and staff productivity has increased to the highest level in history. There is absolutely no financial justification for additional savings - on top of all the long-term saving measures already implemented - and a further erosion of our salaries, not even in the opinion of the external consultants in the most recent financial study.
We expect the strike registration tool to be transparent and open in MyFIPS -> Time and Leave-> Strike registration to all staff regardless of any other leave already registered or working time arrangements. Undue barriers to any staff members’ participation must be removed, and all staff who express a desire to strike must be permitted to do so, with their participation being included in the statistics.
All SUEPO committees stand ready to withdraw their call for industrial actions, provided that the proposed SAP and the corresponding social dialogue show tangible and meaningful improvements. In the absence of such progress, further industrial actions of all staff will follow.
If "EPO is in an excellent financial situation," that's because it illegally grants patents (to make more money). Staff does not benefit from this money, it just gets funneled into an elaborate pyramid scheme.
The open letter is dated Tuesday:
INTERNATIONALE GEWERKSCHAFT IM EUROPÄISCHEN PATENTAMT
STAFF UNION OF THE EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE
UNION SYNDICALE DE L'OFFICE EUROPEEN DES BREVETS27 January 2026
su26005ml & su26003hl 0.2.1To: Mr António Campinos (President of the EPO)
Cc: Social DialogueBy email:
To: president@epo.org
Cc: socialdialogue@epo.orgOPEN LETTER
Call for Industrial Actions
Dear Mr President,
SUEPO The Hague and SUEPO Munich hereby call for industrial actions including work-to-rule, demonstrations and strikes of all staff at the EPO on 30 January, 23 February, and 19 March to underscore the disapproval of staff towards the proposed new Salary Adjustment Procedure (SAP) for the period 2027-2032.
Context of the industrial actions
As the Organisation enters negotiations on the next SAP, the documents presented so far to the Staff Representation demonstrate that the Office neither acknowledges the scale of the damage caused to staff by the SAP 2020-2026, nor provides the conditions required for avoiding further harm with the next SAP. Staff already made their share of the efforts. The Organisation is in an excellent financial situation, produces eyewatering surpluses, the pension schemes are fully covered, and staff productivity has increased to the highest level in history. There is absolutely no financial justification for additional savings - on top of all the long-term saving measures already implemented - and a further erosion of our salaries, not even in the opinion of the external consultants in the most recent financial study.
Six years of salary and pension erosion have profoundly undermined the two fundamental principles that every international organisation (e.g. European Union institutions and Coordinated Organisations) must uphold:
- Parallelism with national civil servants;
- Maintaining of purchasing power and equal treatment among places of employment.
Despite repeated requests from the Staff Representation, clear recommendations of the Appeals Committee, and commitments made in 2020 (that “[t]here is no desire to cut staff purchasing power
or impose unnecessary savings”), no credible roadmap has been presented to restore these principles. Instead, we observe:
1. The new SAP 2027-2032 enhances the substantial and persistent erosion of salaries and pensions, caused by the SAP 2020-2026, confirmed by the Office’s own figures, with losses of purchasing power and deviations from actuarial assumptions.
2. A widening gap with other international organisations, evidenced by comparative benchmarking showing that the EPO has fallen behind.
3. A continued reliance on a limiting mechanism already shown to be legally flawed, leading to unequal treatment, and further erosion of salaries.
4. A refusal to acknowledge the disproportionate burden placed on staff and pensioners, given concrete expression by an inadequate SAP, and an excessive increase in staff social security contributions.
Why industrial actions of all staff
While the nominees of the Central Staff Committee have been invited to meetings with the Office to discuss their proposal for the Salary Adjustment Procedure, these meetings lack meaningful dialogue, and the Representatives are not treated as legitimate stakeholders in the discussions. Under these conditions, Staff Representatives and SUEPO cannot credibly advocate for staff interests in the SAP negotiations. Industrial actions are therefore a last resort, and a necessary and proportionate measure to:
- Defend the rights and living standards of all staff and pensioners;
- Ensure that the next SAP aligns with international standards and reinstates the principles that were dismantled by the 2020 reform;
- Send a clear message to the Administrative Council that the present situation is incompatible with the efforts made by staff.
Our demands
SUEPO The Hague and SUEPO Munich request:
1. A fair and lawful Salary Adjustment Procedure maintaining purchasing power;
2. A method compliant with the fundamental principles defined by the ILO Tribunal;
3. The abolition of arbitrary and unpredictable limiting mechanisms;
4. The restoration of purchasing power lost under SAP2020–2026.
These issues must be addressed urgently to prevent further damage to the Organisation and to its ability to recruit, retain and motivate highly qualified staff.
For these reasons, SUEPO The Hague and SUEPO Munich have proposed industrial action plans approved in their general assemblies. We expect the strike registration tool to be transparent and open in MyFIPS -> Time and Leave-> Strike registration to all staff regardless of any other leave already registered or working time arrangements. Undue barriers to any staff members’ participation must be removed, and all staff who express a desire to strike must be permitted to do so, with their participation being included in the statistics.
All SUEPO committees stand ready to withdraw their call for industrial actions, provided that the proposed SAP and the corresponding social dialogue show tangible and meaningful improvements. In the absence of such progress, further industrial actions of all staff will follow, as approved by the General Assemblies of SUEPO The Hague and SUEPO Munich on 27 and 19 January respectively.
Sincerely,
SUEPO Munich
Chair: Mr Derek Kelly
Date and Signature: 27.01.2026SUEPO The Hague
Chair: Mr Fausto Ciotta
Date and Signature: 27.01.2026Attachments
SUEPO The Hague Action Plan 2026
SUEPO Munich Action Plan 2026
As far as we're aware (so far), Campinos didn't even bother replying to this. Did he pass out with his buddy Berenguer? █