Summary: The Team Battistelli-leaning union, FFPE-EPO, responds to criticism in the worst possible way

"STAY CLASSY," goes the famous saying. Well, having received this letter from FICSA several weeks ago, Sam van der Bijl sends out an internal response to the few people who can call themselves FFPE-EPO members.

"From the (in)famous EPO pro-management union FFPE," told us our source, came the following new text (earlier today).

"Another piece of very noble prose," the source added. Before even reading any of the accompanying remarks I was rather appalled to see nationality brought into it. Our source later added "see at the end that illustrates the essence of what FFPE truly is" (indeed so)...

Reply to those who deny our right to sign an MoU

Submitted by S van der Bijl on Wed, 01/06/2016 - 12:29

In the past month FFPE EPO received to scandalous letters. On of the came from USF and other from FICSA. The content of these two letters to which we will not officially reply is that FFPE EPO is a minority union and should shut up and listen to decisions taken by a bigger union. It is true that an international organisation is not a democracy but however that des not mean that certain democratic principles do not apply. One of the pillars of any democracy is the rights of minorities to express their opinions and beliefs and to defend their interests. This is exactly what FFPE EPO is doing. We are a minority union which has different values, different tactics, different beliefs and even a different composition of members. Our members have interests and ideas and it is the role of the FFPE EPO committee to defend as well as we can these interests and ideas. I don't see at all why non members should have any say at all in the decisions that FFPE EPO takes. The only people who have the legal right to tell the committee what to do and not to do are the members in a general assembly. Our members vote for our committee and it's policy. For the members of other unions, the message is therefore mind your own business! As for mr. Diab Tabari from FICSA who signed this shameful letter, I think he did not read very carefully what he signed. How would he, as a worker for UNWRA in Libanon, like it if the majority leader of for example Libanon wrote a letter to the refugees to tell them to shut up because they are a minority?

"Libanon" should be Lebanon, but never mind that, it's not Sam's first language.

"Remember that union whose chairman was elected by NINE (9) members," our source reminds us. We covered this whole affair before, e.g. in:

1. In the EPO's Official Photo Op, “Only One of the Faces is Actually FFPE-EPO”
2. Further Evidence Suggests and Shows Stronger Evidence That Team Battistelli Uses FFPE-EPO as 'Yellow Union' Against SUEPO
3. “FFPE-EPO Was Set up About 9 Years Ago With Management Encouragement”
4. Fallout of the FFPE EPO MoU With Battistelli's Circle
5. The EPO's Media Strategy at Work: Union Feuds and Group Fracturing
6. Caricature of the Day: Recognising FFPE EPO
7. Union Syndicale Federale Slams FFPE-EPO for Helping Abusive EPO Management by Signing a Malicious, Divisive Document
8. FFPE-EPO Says MoU With Battistelli Will “Defend Employment Conditions” (Updated)
9. Their Masters' Voice (Who Block Techrights): FFPE-EPO Openly Discourages Members From Reading Techrights
10. Letter Says EPO MoU “Raises Questions About FFPE's Credibility as a Federation of Genuine Staff Unions”
11. On Day of Strike FFPE-EPO Reaffirms Status as Yellow (Fake/Management-Leaning) Union, Receives 'Gifts'
12. Needed Urgently: Information About the Secret Meeting of Board 28 and Battistelli's Yellow Union, FFPE-EPO
13. In Battistelli's Mini Union (Minion) It Takes Less Than 10 Votes to 'Win' an Election

With 'unions' like these, who needs union busters? ⬆