SUEPO Munich Report on the Recent EPO Demonstration and Rolling Strikes That Continue to Grow
Unrest at the EPO is growing and António Campinos cannot hide that by running away to lobby all over Europe.
The unrest is spilling over to larger collectives, including union syndicates.
This new page - or newly updated page - says that "USF Denounces Mounting Pressures on EPO Workforce". It contains two recent updates from SUEPO, one older one (December 2025).
It amplifies this recent publication amid massive strikes not seen in a decade.
There is a photograph of the demonstration in a publication dated two days ago. We reproduce it below.
INTERNATIONALE GEWERKSCHAFT IM EUROPÄISCHEN PATENTAMT
STAFF UNION OF THE EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE
UNION SYNDICALE DE L'OFFICE EUROPEEN DES BREVETSOrtssektion München
Local section Munich
Section locale de Munich9 July 2026
su26021mp – 0.2.1/0.2.2Demonstration of 30 June 2026 in front of the Isar building and “rolling strikes”
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Dear SUEPO members,
Dear Colleagues,On 30 June 2026, 250 colleagues and pensioners braved the hot and wet weather to demonstrate in front of the Isar building. 190 additional attendees connected to the live feed put in place. Overall, the demonstration had a total of 440 attendees. We also hear of increasing registrations for the “rolling strikes” running until autumn. Thank you for your support!
SUEPO had called to demonstrate against the new salary adjustment procedure intensifying the erosion of EPO salaries, pensions and other benefits without any financial basis. In addition, the procedure foresees no end in the erosion and contains a review clause allowing the Council to further worsen the pace of erosion in three years’ time. The presence of EPO pensioners in the demonstration was all the more justified that they had also paid contributions during their whole career for a pension to be indexed on increases in costs of living and now find themselves with a plummeting pension.
Later this year, the Administrative Council will meet on 13 and 14 October to decide on the re-election of Mr Campinos for a third mandate. The new salary erosion procedure is part of his strategy to obtain the necessary support from the delegates.
In preparation of the Administrative Council meeting of 30 June and 1 July, the Union Syndicale Fédérale addressed Mr Campinos by letter of 26 June on the industrial actions and the Central Staff Committee (CSC) addressed the Council by letter of 23 June to submit input on a future strategic plan for the European Patent Organisation.
During the demonstration, SUEPO executive members and staff representatives from all sites greeted the crowd and took the floor to address specific topics. Among them are the lack of respect from upper management, the broken promises on purchasing power and the importance of strike and work-to-rule as a collective bargain instrument. In addition, one of the speakers read out the intervention to be made later in front of the Administrative
Council. The time allocated by the Chairman to staff representatives for such an intervention in plenum is restricted to 2 to 5 minutes. The staff representatives sitting in the Administrative Council also made printed handouts available to the delegates.
When closing the demonstration, SUEPO reminded that the most powerful action every one of us can take is to join the organised strikes and to contribute to the work-to- rule action which is having an impressive impact on the drop in number of products/grants and hence the income of the national patent offices of the delegates.
In the afternoon, the Administrative Council adopted the new salary adjustment procedure by 37 votes in favour, 1 against (Germany), 1 abstention (Croatia), and 1 non-voter (Slovenia). Read more in this flash report.
The SUEPO Munich Action Plan continues with Work-To-Rule and “rolling strikes” until at least 16 October while the re-election of Mr Campinos for a third mandate is under discussion in the Council.
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8 REASONS WHY WE HAVE TO CONTINUE INDUSTRIAL ACTIONS
1. Pay cuts without a single credible reason. The EPO is not a struggling organisation. It achieved a more than €600 million surplus in 2025, and that surplus is projected to grow further in the coming years. On top of this, the Office sits on roughly €20 billion in reserves, including a €5 billion fund with no defined purpose. Staff salaries will be further eroded without any plausible financial justification. It is just a decision imposed from above.
2. One rule for the top, another for everyone else. While ordinary staff received on average a €1,000 bonus, the President was awarded a high six figure bonus.
3. Jobs for the in-crowd. Colleagues have watched staff from Alicante moved into EPO management positions. Meanwhile, “advisor” posts have been created for staff doing little to advance the Office’s actual mission, and management posts seem to have multiplied in non-core departments.
4. Spending on spectacle, not substance. Events like “Inventor of the Year” consume budget and attention without adding any real value to the Office’s mission or to the people who keep it running. It is hard to ask staff to accept pay restraint while the Organisation spends unnecessarily on self- promotion.
5. A pension contribution reform that protects the wrong people. The recent increase of the pension contribution was sold as a necessary adjustment. In practice, it increases benefits for higher management.
6. No dialogue, no partnership. Genuine social dialogue requires an employer willing to listen. Instead, staff representation has been met with indifference, not consultation. Decisions are made and announced, not discussed and negotiated.
7. Studies designed to reach a conclusion. Financial studies have repeatedly arrived at conclusions that were decided before the analysis began. Staff deserve honest analysis, not manufactured consent.
8. Oversight that does not oversee. The Administrative Council exists to hold the EPO’s management to account. In practice, decisions affecting staff are driven by jealousy and resentment, not rational argument.
SUEPO Munich
Tomorrow we'll look at some more EPO issue. █