Mobbing at the European Patent Office (EPO) - Part V - Strongest Strike Under António Campinos
[Also see Part I, Part II, Part III, and the last part for background]
THE EPO under Benoît Battistelli saw many strikes. Under António Campinos there were fewer strikes, but that is changing this year. It's not because of European software patents but because of many invalid patents (quality and validity issues), internal abuse, and erosion of salaries. This it today's publication from the union:
INTERNATIONALE GEWERKSCHAFT IM EUROPÄISCHEN PATENTAMT
STAFF UNION OF THE EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE
UNION SYNDICALE DE L'OFFICE EUROPEEN DES BREVETS
Ortssektion München
Local section Munich
Section locale de Munich09 February 2026
su26006mp – 0.2.1/0.2.2Action Plan 2026 to stop the salary erosion of EPO staff
Week of 9 to 13 February: Work-To-Rule continues,
Next strike on Monday 23 FebruaryDear SUEPO members, dear Colleagues,
Strongest strike under Campinos: Tuesday 2 February, the Office finally published the strike participation figures. The industrial action is the best followed since 2018:
Information session with the Council: Last week, the administration met with Council delegations to present their “future orientations on the new salary adjustment procedure”. SUEPO is not aware of the current status of the Office proposal. There is still no sign that the Office will depart from the initial plan to further erode salaries and benefits.
General Assemblies: In The Hague, Thursday 12 February at 11.00h and in Munich, Thursday 19 February at 14.00h. The LSCs will inform about the latest developments, the strike actions and once available, the content of the GCC documents which will outline the details of the proposal of the Office. Inform your colleagues.
Taking Action: The SUEPO Munich Action Plan. We have worked faithfully and efficiently, yet the President continues to erode our salaries and benefits without financial justification (the 2026 Budget foresees an operating surplus of 643 M€). It is time to respond!
- Work-To-Rule: Action continues for all staff. Avoid overtime. Focus on meticulous quality, the thorough application of the EPC. For examiners: The AC delegations are particularly sensitive to the number of patents granted from which they receive a share of the renewal fees. Focus on search, first and intermediate actions.
- Warning Strike: Monday 23 February is the second warning strike. The day after, the GCC will meet to discuss the “future orientations on the salary adjustment procedure”
It is time to put an end to further erosion of salaries and benefits. Support the SUEPO Munich Action Plan 2026.
SUEPO Munich
SUEPO Munich is also reminding people of the threat of PIPs: (or preludes to these)
Dear SUEPO members,
Dear Colleagues,You will soon receive (or may have already received) your appraisal reports, also known as performance development reports. Appraisal reports are crucial documents that summarize your work at the EPO and serve as a basis for decisions related to careers, selection processes, and addressing underperformance.
Given the current environment of high production demands and challenging objectives, we strongly recommend that you review your appraisal report carefully. If it does not accurately reflect your work in 2025, you should consider contesting it.
This year, we would like to highlight the following concerns:
- Reports including references to “unacceptable”, “incompetence”, Articles 52, 53a, 53b, “(far) below”, ...
- Positive reports that still include negative ratings (e.g., "not met" or "partially met").
- Reports submitted by Reporting Officers without providing sufficient opportunities for review before calibration by the Counter-Signing Officer.
They've shared these slides - very similar to the slides shared the other day by SUEPO The Hague (TH) but updated for this year. The differences are almost 'cosmetic' as the substance is almost exactly the same, except in few slides.█