Press release | 2.3.2016

EPO and trade union sign landmark deal

Brussels, 2 March 2016 -The European Patent Office (EPO) has formally recognised the role of trade unions as social partners through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was signed today with FFPE-EPO, a European civil service trade union.

After a year of discussions and preparations, an MoU has been offered for signature to all the trade unions at the EPO. It aims to improve social dialogue by creating a negotiation scheme relating to all social topics, complementing the consultation scheme which has existed since the EPO was first founded.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by EPO President Benoît Battistelli and Samuel van der Bijl, FFPE-EPO Chair, and Vice-Chair Aldert de Haan, in the presence of FFPE Federal Bureau representatives John Parsons (Federal President FFPE Council of Europe), Pierre-Philippe Bacri (President FFPE European Commission) and Simon Coates (President FFPE European Council).

FFPE is the first trade union to sign this MoU, which remains open to all trade unions represented at the EPO. The signing marks a breakthrough in a process that was initiated jointly by President Battistelli and the Administrative Council of the EPO in March 2015.

Together with the management and staff, Benoît Battistelli was pleased by this very positive outcome: "The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding today is a milestone in a renewed social dialogue. By this recognition of trade unions as social partners, we are adding a negotiation scheme to our comprehensive process of consultation. We now look forward to signing the agreement with all unions. A meeting will take place with signatory unions in the coming weeks to define a common social agenda," he added.

Notes to the Editor:

The EPO has taken significant steps in the past few years to modernise its internal structures and increase efficiency, while further improving its patent quality. These cover such diverse areas as co-operation with the member states, the EPO's IT infrastructure and human resources policy. The 2015 annual results show that the reforms are paying off: the number of products (such as searches and examinations) delivered by EPO patent examiners grew by 14% in 2015, to 365 000, and the EPO published more than 68000 granted patents, an increase of nearly 6% over 2014 and the highest number ever.
The FFPE-EPO, which stands for Fédération de la Fonction Publique Européenne of the European Patent Office, is affiliated to its umbrella organisation FFPE, an influential European federation of civil servants founded in 1962. The FFPE is represented in most of the European institutions. As a professional organisation, the FFPE aims to promote the independence and excellence of European civil service. FFPE-EPO deals with and takes responsibility in issues such as employment conditions, the well-being of staff and their families, staff representation and patent quality.