Earlier this month it was reported that sufficient Boots pharmacists have now come forward to formally request that their pay, hours and holiday are collectively negotiated by the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) Union. I was fascinated to discover from the coverage, that the PDA actually represents more Boots pharmacists than the multiple's own Boots Pharmacists' Association (BPA) does, so I can see why the question is being asked.

I think this is an interesting step for the sector, and I look forward to seeing how both sides in this legal poker game play their hands over the days to come. The scale of the numbers involved make this a question that is now impossible to defer much longer.

For the six pharmacists involved, it is a brave request to make, as despite their legal right to express a preference – and not to be treated differently for doing so – one can’t help but feel they have risked a lot to step forward. I can imagine the inevitable questions it might raise as their loyalty is questioned by local managers, especially if one takes a more clumsy or righteous line than the corporate position.

I wrote in a recent blog that one of the most dangerous jobs in community pharmacy is being an area manager, given how regularly we seem to change and – more importantly – are changed. Boots, in common with most multiples, is no stranger to this sort of practice.

So with that in mind, it surprised me when I read the finer detail of the PDA’s application. It seems the PDA is keen to get to a stage in which all Boots employed pharmacists below area manager level, as well as pre-registration trainees, will be subject to a secret ballot to decide whether to have the BPA “derecognised” as Boots’ sole union.

If the PDA is successful, who will represent those pharmacists working there who are area managers, and in other senior roles, such as head office? Perhaps I am being idealistic, but I believe pharmacists don’t stop being pharmacists once they leave the dispensary.

We all need representation. Without it, perhaps the most dangerous roles in pharmacy are about to get even more so.

The Area Manager has worked for all of the large multiples