13 November 2014Patents

EPO staff reveal strike dates

A strike running over a five week-period at the European Patent Office (EPO) will begin next week, WIPR can reveal.

Some staff members at all three EPO sites—Munich, Berlin and The Hague—will walk out in what has been dubbed an “incremental” strike.

It will start on Thursday, November 20, with a one-day strike. For the four weeks thereafter, the days of the week spent striking will increase by one, culminating in a full week’s strike in the week beginning December 15.

A full list of strike days is below.

WIPR reported yesterday (November 12) that staff had voted on a number of options for the latest strike, with the five-week split strike proving the most popular.

There have been two strikes at the office since March.

Workers are understood to be concerned about changes at the office, including an alleged abolition of new staff investigation guidelines, and are calling for more freedom of communication for unions and other staff members.

There are also concerns about apparent changes to strike regulations, and alterations to starting salaries and career prospects. The alleged recent suspension of a former worker who sat on a panel hearing staff disputes has also angered some of the office’s workforce.

In a document outlining the terms of the strike that was sent to EPO president Benoît Battistelli, the central staff committee said it “has always been prepared” to enter into a fair social dialogue and, if progress is made, could terminate the strike actions.

The EPO did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Strike dates:

Thursday, November 20.

Tuesday, November 25 and Wednesday, November 26.

Tuesday, December 2; Wednesday, December 3; and Thursday, December 4.

Monday, December 8; Tuesday, December 9; Wednesday, December 10; and Thursday, December 11.

Monday, December 15; Tuesday, December 16; Wednesday, December 17; Thursday, December 18; and Friday, December 19.

Already registered?

Login to your account

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk


More on this story

Patents
12 November 2014   Staff at the European Patent Office have agreed to a series of intermittent strikes over five weeks, WIPR has learned.
Patents
10 November 2014   Staff at the European Patent Office could strike for as long as one month following a vote among staff tomorrow (November 11), WIPR understands.