PDA Union submit formal request for recognition as BPA are derecognised with immediate effect

Following the decisive result in the ballot of Boots pharmacists, the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) have terminated the agreement between Boots and the BPA, which blocked PDA Union’s previous attempts to get formal recognition at the company.

This means the BPA are now derecognised. The PDA Union have submitted their formal request for recognition and are proceeding with the process to become the independent voice of pharmacists at work.
Effective Date
Following the ballot result last week, where 87% voted to end the blocking agreement between Boots & the BPA, the CAC sought views from all parties about when the derecognition should take effect.

• PDA Union asked that the agreement be ended this week.
• The BPA asked for it to continue until the end of July because they had a meeting booked with the company on 2 July.
• The company went even further, mentioned meetings scheduled between BPA and Boots up until November 2018 and asked that the agreement continue “until such time as alternative arrangements are put in place” .

CAC Decision

The CAC decision was:

“The ballot established that a majority of workers who voted in the ballot supported the proposal that the Union should be de-recognised by the Employer and the bargaining arrangements ended.

In accordance with paragraph 121(3) of the Schedule and following consultation with the parties, the CAC declares that the Union (Boots Pharmacists Association) should be de-recognised by the Employer (Boots Management Services Limited) and its bargaining arrangements for the bargaining unit are to be ended with immediate effect 11 June 2018.”

The CAC also confirmed that the derecognition concludes the legal case taken by the six pharmacists last July in which they were represented by the PDA Union. The six were the first ever workers to attempt this process, and they succeeded.

All eyes will now be on the company’s senior management to see how they respond to the overwhelming view expressed by their pharmacist employees and the CAC’s order.

For more information about the derecognition ballot, please visit: www.pdaurecognition.co.uk.