The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has questioned whether the £4.27bn Alliance Boots merger with Walgreens will result in changes to employment terms.

Speaking to C+D, PDA director John Murphy And Mr Murphy queried Alliance Boots' assertion that employees would not be negatively affected in future by the merger.

Mr Murphy: questioned the future impact of the merger on employee terms and conditions	More on Alliance Boots merger with Walgreens Atlantic rift Alliance Boots and Walgreens: the deal explained The Americans are coming
	When the deal was announced on June 19, executive chairman Stefano Pessina stressed there would be no changes to the company pension scheme or redundancies. "How can you think about job losses?" he asked. "Boots will not just survive, it will thrive." Last week, both companies confirmed there were no plans to cut jobs at Walgreens or Alliance Boots.

But Mr Murphy said it was difficult to predict how the situation would evolve, despite Mr Pessina remaining the largest shareholder in the combined company. "It's not unusual for an organisation to say nothing will change, but how can they say that?" he asked. "They just don't know, because in a few years something else may well have happened and they'll decide that they're going to change [employment terms]."

Mr Murphy added that the changes would not necessarily disadvantage employees, saying the union had heard "good things" from staff when Wal-Mart took over Asda in 1999.But added that Boots was "determined" to push ahead with its cuts to premium pay for long-serving employees, despite an employment tribunal ruling them illegal.

Boots this week reiterated its statement that it wanted to create a "consistent offer" for its pharmacists that would enable it to "reinvest in better pay, benefits and bonus potential for all".

"The majority of colleagues have accepted the revised premium rates of pay, which came into effect a year ago, understanding that our success as a business depends upon us investing in the right things to be able to deliver legendary customer care," the company said.