The PDA Union filed an application with CAC last week (July 10) for formal recognition by Lloydspharmacy as a trade union. The multiple now has until July 17 to respond to the application, the PDA said yesterday (July 13).

Lloydspharmacy does not have any comment to add at this time, it told  C+D today (July 14).

The legal process the PDA Union is now undertaking must be “preceded by an initial letter to the company asking for recognition”, and the PDA Union said this was submitted at the beginning of February.

“The letter followed an earlier series of discussions between the company and the union about the possibility of recognition,” it added.

“The PDA Union has been inundated with contacts from concerned pharmacists at Lloydsafter the company announced last week that it will shortly commence discussing the possibility of redundancies and contractual change,” the PDA Union said.

“Pharmacists at Lloyds now want a similar agreement to that secured by Boots pharmacists in 2019,” it added.

Last week (July 6), Lloydspharmacy announced that redundancies might have to be made to keep the business viable in “a volatile marketplace” and in the face of COVID-19.

In 2019, 92% of Boots pharmacists who took part in a ballot voted in favour of having their pay, hours and holiday negotiated by the PDA Union, with the first agreement for this to be the case signed by Boots and the PDA Union in July last year.

The PDA Union first asked Boots for formal recognition as a trade union in 2012.