More than 2,600 join EPO strike
More than 2,600 staff at the European Patent Office (EPO) went on strike yesterday, in what an EPO source has claimed is the highest number of strikers the office has seen.
According to the source, 2,078 employees were on strike for the full day, while 579 people went on a half-day strike.
The total number of strikers throughout the day stood at 2,657 across the EPO’s four sites.
In 2014, 1,455 of the office’s staff went on strike.
Staff decided to strike after the EPO’s Central Staff Committee (CSC) said there had been no progress on four recent demands.
The CSChad called for an immediate suspension of disciplinary measures put in place against three staff representatives earlier this year, a “truly independent review” of their cases by a body that is trusted by managers and staff, a revocation of recent changes to the EPO’s service regulations, and an initiation of open and fair negotiations.
In a statement on its website, the EPO said it regrets the disturbance but added that all measures to ensure the normal functioning of the office are in place and that services to users remain unaffected.
