EPO staff vote for strike action
Calls for the reinstatement of union officials dismissed from their posts at the European Patent Office (EPO) intensified yesterday after members of staff voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike.
In a vote for strike action, 91% (3,701) of those who voted backed industrial action, it was confirmed yesterday, March 8.
In order to strike, at least 40% of staff are required to vote on whether to take action. In total, 4,062 out of 6,738 staff voted, representing 60%.
Once this has been achieved, at least 50% percent of those must vote in favour of action.
Of the 4,062 voters, just 219 voted against strike action, while 142 members of staff said they had no opinion on the issue.
It is a new blow for EPO president Benoît Battistelli ahead of the latest Administrative Council (AC) meeting, due to be held on March 16 and 17. The AC acts as the EPO’s supervisory body.
Battistelli has sought to heal relations with staff.
Last week, he made a step forward by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that recognised the Fédération de la Fonction Publique Européenne of the European Patent Office (FFPE-EPO) as an official union.
However, it is estimated to have only around 70 members and is based solely in The Hague.
Another EPO union, the Staff Union of the European Patent Office (SUEPO), which is estimated to have around 3,000 members, has said it will not sign an MOU while its senior officials remain dismissed.
In January, WIPR reported that SUEPO chair Elizabeth Hardon and Ion Brumme, the union’s treasurer, had been dismissed on defamation grounds.
Those backing the strike have called for the reinstatement of Hardon and Brumme.
Furthermore, they have called for an independent review of the decision to dismiss them and say they are concerned about the “sustained deterioration of the legal framework” since Battistelli took over the EPO in 2010.
So far, no date for the strike has been confirmed.
The supporters of the strike have to provide five days’ notice of the strike action’s date as well as details on the proposed duration and location.
A spokesperson for the EPO told WIPR that a social dialogue between staff and management at the EPO is important, but noted that strikes do happen.
The EPO said that the door is still open to SUEPO to sign the MOU.
