In October, the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) announced that Boots pharmacists had rejected the multiple’s offer for a 2% pay rise, referring to it as a “sub-inflationary 2% increase”.

Pay negotiations between the PDA Union members and Boots, which started this summer and cover 6,000 pharmacists employed by the multiple, saw Boots also offer “a one-off lump sum worth 0.38% and other measures to reward those in the initial stages of their career”.

A Boots spokesperson told C+D at the time that the multiple was “disappointed” by the PDA Union members' decision and that its pay increase proposal, “weighted towards pharmacists at the start of their career, exceeds the PDA Union’s aggregate request”.

But following talks hosted by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) – an independent public body that offers advice to employers and employees – between the PDA Union and Boots, “an improved offer” has now been put forward, Mr Day told C+D yesterday (December 2).

“It really is for PDA members at Boots to let our negotiating team know how they would like us to proceed,” he added.

 

Boots pharmacists “likely” to mull industrial action if offer rejected

 

But Mr Day warned that if a decision is made to reject the new offer, Boots pharmacists could decide to take industrial action.

He told C+D: “Having exhausted the internal pay negotiations and now the ACAS hosted conciliation meetings, if the decision were to reject this offer, which the PDA negotiators believe is the best available through discussion, then the next steps would likely be to consider industrial action.”

A spokesperson for Boots told C+D today (December 3), that the multiple is unable to comment on the offer while the process is still ongoing.

 

PDA members “actively encouraged” to respond to survey

 

All PDA Union members at Boots were sent an email by the union on December 1, to be completed within seven days, the PDA confirmed.

The email, which includes a survey, will record their reaction to Boots’ final pay offer following the conciliation talks hosted by ACAS.

“All PDA members at Boots are actively encouraged to reply to the PDA communication so that we get the most comprehensive and inclusive feedback,” Mr Day told C+D yesterday.

When the initial offer was rejected in October, Mr Day said that Boots should “be prepared” to agree on “a fair pay increase for all pharmacists that is above inflation" during the talks mediated by ACAS. It should also "start the process of reinstating the purchasing power of pharmacists’ salaries”, Mr Day said.

He added that “pharmacists’ pay at Boots has reduced in real terms for several years”, while “shareholders of the parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance have continued to receive record levels of dividend”.

“It is time for Boots to recognise the significant contribution our members make to keeping the business successful while also delivering essential healthcare to the public,” Mr Day said, especially following the multiple’s 2020 pay freeze due to uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.