EPO strike enters fifth and final week

A five-week “incremental” strike at the European Patent Office (EPO) will end this week with some workers set to walk out every day.

Staff have been striking on various days over the last four weeks, with demonstrations also taking place in support of two suspended committee members and a board of appeal member.

The number of strikers has fluctuated over the course of the five weeks.

According to the EPO staff union, as many as 36% of the office’s 6,000 strong workforce were on strike on November 20, the first day of action, when demonstrations for the suspended committee members were held.

But the figure dropped to just 4.6% by December 8, the EPO’s official website claimed.

According to workers, 1,488 people (24.8%) were on strike on Wednesday last week (December 10), the same day a demonstration was held in support of the suspended board of appeal member.

That figure applies to the EPO’s three offices in Munich, Berlin and The Hague.

Last week WIPR reported that following an EPO “house ban”, the Administrative Council (AC)—the office’s supervisory body—had suspended a board of appeal member and also ignored two letters asking the AC to limit president Benoît Battistelli's power.

In a communiqué published on December 12, the AC said it reiterated its “full endorsement of and support for” board of appeal members’ independence but nevertheless suspended the member on alleged misconduct grounds.

WIPR will provide any updates of events during this week’s strike.