The current EPO President shows the leadership skills of Donald Trump and Benoît Battistelli

Summary: Dependence on the Office for one's salary (basic means) is exploited by the autocrats who run the Office to crush the staff and not even listen to staff while doing so

THE biggest asset of the EPO is its staff. Without staff, the EPO is nothing but a stamping authority and a monopoly on the stamping (in EU member states and beyond, except NPOs).

"What kind of cruel regime fails to involve actual staff for input?"What on Earth does Mr. Ernst smoke? Why are they so eager to crush their very own staff while pretending otherwise? Where's the goodwill promised by the Campinos regime? All gone so fast? No wonder his approval rate among staff is about 10 times lower than that of Donald Trump (estimated at around 3%, based on a staff survey we'll come to later).

Just days after the aforementioned letter was sent to António Campinos the Central Staff Committee wrote to him again. As it explained back then to EPO staff:

The President [Campinos] has set up a task force for rapid reaction to the development of the pandemic without any involvement of the Staff Representation. However, feedback from staff shows that there is an urgent need for involving the Staff Representation in task-force meetings. We repeat our request for task-force meetings.

In addition, the present situation and the measures taken by the task force will have longer-term, wider-ranging, consequences on staff, which we need to discuss as soon as possible with the President. Thus, in addition, we also request “crisis meetings” with the President on a regular basis to address those consequences.

Here's the full text of the corresponding letter:

Reference: sc20049cl-0.3.1/4.3 Date: 19.03.2020

Mr António Campinos President of the EPO Room 1081 - ISAR

OPEN LETTER

Request for crisis meetings (and repeated request for task-force meetings)

Dear Mr President,

The Coronavirus pandemic confronts us with unusual problems of business continuity as well as issues of staff health and conditions of employment.

We understand that you have set up a task force for rapid reaction to the development of the pandemic. However, it turns out that staff has often difficulties in understanding the measures implemented or “encouraged” by your administration, presently without any involvement of the Staff Representation. This is clear from the massive feedback we get. The present situation is not satisfactory and we feel that we would contribute positively to overcoming the present crisis without too much damage to EPO staff and their families.

This is why there is an urgent need for involving the Staff Representation in task-force meetings and we reiterate the request we have already made several times.

In addition, the present situation and the measures taken by the task force already have, and will have, longer-term, wider-ranging consequences on staff, which we need to discuss as soon as possible with you. There is also a need to address issues resulting from the work of the task force at a more general, systemic level.

Consequently, we request “crisis meetings” by videoconference with you on a regular basis to address those consequences.

Yours sincerely,

Alain Dumont Acting Chairman of the Central Staff Committee

The EPO was exploiting the fact that staff could not seek alternative employment and could barely even fly back home to visit family (other than partner and kids). What kind of cruel regime fails to involve actual staff for input? The EPO isn't even poor, so there's no excuse for that. ⬆