Bonum Certa Men Certa

Lots of Legal Action Against the EPO Impending

A tsunami of legal cases on the horizon
"A tsunami of legal cases on the horizon" was circulated earlier today



Summary: The Local Staff Committee The Hague (LSCTH) gives a heads-up regarding a "tsunami of legal cases on the horizon" against Europe's second-largest institution, which operates in the dark with impunity (and thus frequently breaks the law and breaks promises)

TOMORROW there's an EPO protest in Munich. The Netherlands isn't so near, but staff at The Hague also made plans, as we noted last week. The union will be recruiting members and it is pursuing further industrial actions.

The Benoît Battistelli era/reign of terror isn't over; his friend resumes all the attacks on staff, even at an unprecedented pace and scale.

"The Benoît Battistelli era/reign of terror isn’t over; his friend resumes all the attacks on staff, even at an unprecedented pace and scale."As it turns out, one can expect a lot more action, even if Campinos is tentatively shown the door (effective next year). In recent months the union and staff representatives repeatedly pointed out attacks on the welfare of staff and benefit that staff rightly came to expect (part of the package associated with relocating a family to another country/city).

Today, in the words of the staff representation, the Local Staff Committee The Hague (LSCTH) -- not to be mistaken for the union:

Staff Committee The Hague Comité du personnel de La Haye Personalausschuss Den Haag

28 June 2022

A tsunami of legal cases on the horizon

Education and childcare allowance reform

Dear Colleagues,

The Education and Childcare reform is becoming again the daily poisonous pill for affected staff in the Hague. A reform designed to be transparent, fair, reduce administrative burden, and give legal certainty is emerging to be the most ignominious reform of all time, making a mockery of the initial objectives of the reform.

It was not enough that managers mostly located in Munich ideated a reform which significantly reduces the Education and Childcare compensation for Staff in the Hague, now the Administration is on a mission to scrape the barrel and is looking for further cuts.

Day by day, parents are confronted with a new piece of information, highlighting a new cut to the education benefits. The list of cuts is becoming worthy to mention, and should bring to shame anybody who masterminded it.

The administration, in spite of committing to refund the direct costs for education, is now considering some direct and mandatory costs for schooling of students not to be refundable. These costs are often part of the tuition fees and in any case always a core part of the curriculum and/or mandatory for attendance of the school.

The list of excluded items now contains: mandatory trips, canteen supervision, exam fees, school fees (some fees of dubious nature newly rebranded by the British School), school activities, student expenses, technology fee, campus fee, regional taxes, etc. The list seems to be endless and will surely keep growing at the convenience of the Office.

However, the good news is that, considering the way the regulations are written (Art. 71 ServRegs, Circ. 411 and the other official documents), evident legal reasons for challenging the reform are present.

We therefore advise each staff member to request the refund of all disputed direct costs (any of those in the list above) to hrservices@epo.org requesting a ticket to be opened. If your request is rejected, we would like to remind you of the possibility to launch a Request for Review within the 3 month time period from the date of rejection.




Additionally, the new Education Allowance Portal is showing already major deficiencies which are troublesome for many staff members. Staff Representation TH is monitoring this issue very closely. For the time being, we would like to remind you of the advice of SUEPO to use a disclaimer (also in ANNEX below) to keep your right to challenge the discretionary request by the administration.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for assistance.

With kind regards,

Your Local Staff Committee The Hague (LSCTH)

[ANNEX omitted]


This may not be the most pressing/urgent thing at the moment, in light of this week's meeting, but this will manifest itself soon.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Rust People: Drain the Swap, You're Holding It Wrong
Does Rust make sense?
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
European Patent Office Illegally Gutting and Outsourcing Its Functions, Acting Like an Above-the-Law Commercial Business (It Won't Stop at Formalities Officers (FOs) and Classification Slop at the EPO)
breaking/violating laws and conventions
Links 19/09/2025: Lobbyist of American GAFAM Becomes Data Protection Commissioner in Europe
Links for the day
 
Links 20/09/2025: Internet Shutdowns, Media Censorship, and Climate Worries
Links for the day
About 700 New Gemini Capsules in 13 Months (or 54 Per Month)
4.8K would represent a 20% increase
Techrights the Name Turns 15
About 6 weeks from now we turn 19
Microsoft is Running Out of Time and Floating Fake Figures, Fake Projects, Fake Narratives, Fake Excuses
Also, a lot of Microsoft's "revenue" claims are circular financing (i.e. Microsoft buying from itself, which means Ponzi-like fraud)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 19, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Navigating the Pressures of Modern Life and SpellBinding Accidentally Wrote Another Gemini Server
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Press Freedom Dying in US, Anti-Austerity Strikes in France, and Alan Rusbridger to Leave 'Prospect'
Links for the day
Offloading to the Sister Site
In the interest of not overwhelming readers
Links 19/09/2025: Coffee Club and "SpellBinding is Now Absurdly Fast"
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Media Freedom Ceases to Exist in US, "Consider Dropping Twitter/X"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/09/2025: Thinking and Insect Bites
Links for the day
Microsoft E.E.E.: Git Will Now (or Very Soon) Fully Depend on Rust, Which is Controlled by Microsoft
Microsoft now makes Git dependent on Rust, or making Git dependent on GitHub, which is proprietary
The Right to Punch People (Apparently)
At Brett Wilson, Brett's job title is "Head of Crime" and Wilson normalises calls for violence
Slop or Fake Articles Have Turned Linux Journal From a Pioneering/Trailblazing "Linux" Magazine Into a Nuisance
some sites with former reputation - good reputation - turn into cesspools
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 18, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, September 18, 2025
Brett Wilson LLP Seem to Have Had Only One Litigation Client in 2025, He Was Previously Charged, Just Like the Serial Strangler From Microsoft (Whom They Now Represent)
Karma is superstition, regulators are not
Project 2030 to Cover How "Project 2025"-Styled Anti-Media Zealots From America Targeted Techrights and Tux Machines
The common denominator is also their attacks on women
Brett Wilson LLP Failed to Meet Deadlines Set by Judge 7 Months Earlier, Tried to Ruin Our Holiday, Then Had the Audacity to Ask Us for Over 3,000 Pounds for Its Own Lateness
As a matter of principle we will never respond to assassin while we are on holiday
On Claims That After Bluewashing Red Hat Will Increasingly Become an Indian Company
Discussed this week (long and detailed)
Americans Attacking British Sites Only Months After They Leave America
We find it kind of funny if not ironic that this site, originally an American site, got legal harassment only from Americans and only months after it had moved to the UK
Despite Losing Over a Quarter Million Dollars a Year Software in the Public Interest (SPI) Gives Helping Hand to Libreboot
SPI's financial state depends a lot on its public image or its reputation
Slopwatch: Google Helps Plagiarism and Sends Traffic to Ripoff Artists
That Google as a company helps spamfarms is noteworthy
If You Want to Know the Future, Listen to the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Andy Farnell
We're sure the FSF will have plenty of its own output
Links 18/09/2025: A Taliban Ban on Internet Access and Troubled US Job Market
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/09/2025: Computer Literacy and Accessing Alhena's Database
Links for the day
Links 18/09/2025: US War on Media (Truth Banned, Cancel Culture by the Hard Right), NYT Chief Executive Warns Cheeto is Deploying ‘Anti-press Playbook'
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, September 17, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, September 17, 2025