EPO Staff Welcome Withdrawal Of Unpopular Disciplinary Proposals

Pressure from staff and now from members of the European Patent Office governing body has forced EPO President Benoît Battistelli to withdraw controversial proposals for disciplining and investigating employees, the Staff Union of the EPO (SUEPO) said on 17 October. The action was welcomed but the situation is far from resolved, staff members say.

The Administrative Council (AC) of the EPO, made of members of the office’s member states, met on 12-13 October. “This session did not go exactly according to plan,” SUEPO said in an update on the latest developments. Many delegations “pointed at indicators of the existing social problems such as the lack of trust in EPO management, the perceived lack of respect for staff, the high level of dissatisfaction among staff,” the union said.

EPO President Battistelli

Battistelli withdrew his proposal on staff investigations at the beginning of the AC meeting, SUEPO said. Several major delegations – the union did not list them – endorsed a motion from Switzerland which asked that the proposal on disciplinary procedures be withdrawn and that both documents be substantially redrafted to meet lawful standards, it said.

“Against his will, Mr Battistelli withdrew the document,” and will resubmit both proposals at the December AC meeting, SUEPO said. Switzerland “unambiguously [corrected] demanded that no disciplinary sanction be inflicted until new Regulations are in place,” the union said.

[Update:] Asked to confirm whether current disciplinary procedures have been suspended pending the December AC meeting, an EPO spokesman said later that the council “did not ask the President to take such a position.” Moreover, he emailed, the disciplinary committee is equally composed of management and staff representatives, and it decides independently on its recommendation, uninfluenced by any external authority. [end update]

[Editor’s note: a comment to this story, below, challenges the veracity of this EPO statement.]

According to SUEPO, the president was left with two options. The group said he can accede to the AC’s instructions, back off, calm down and come up with a reasonable solution for all parties; or he can “continue to ignore the clear requests of the AC, causing irreparable damage to the reputation of the EPO.”

The AC discussion focused on increasing the independence of EPO institutions from the president, said a source who asked to remain anonymous. It was clear that progress would be a necessary sign not only toward employees but also toward the respective delegations, the source said.

Staff representatives at the AC told governments they welcomed the change of tone, according to the source. They said that if ongoing disciplinary actions are stayed, SUEPO would consider suspending its strikes until December, the source added.

In its statement on outcomes of the AC meeting, the EPO said only that “two proposals for reform of the investigation and disciplinary procedures will be examined at a later stage.”

The union has been holding demonstrations to demand fundamental rights, the latest of which took placed in Munich and The Hague on 13 October. Each attracted around 600 staff members, it said.

Nothing is solved yet, because AC members appear on the one hand to be making better efforts to protect staff from management but on the other hand have extended the terms of all current vice-presidents, said the source. Council members apparently don’t intend to fire Battistelli, whose term ends on 30 June 2018, said the source.

Image Credits: EPO, EPO