“The result of a ballot asking members of the BPA about a merger proposal showed pharmacists overwhelmingly wanted the BPA to become part of the PDA Union,” the PDA today (November 12) announced.
Last month, the PDA said that it had “agreed terms under which the BPA [could] transfer into the PDA Union” pending the results of a ballot, after Boots' own union recognised “that there is now no sustainable future for the BPA as a separate body”.
After a three-week voting period, it has now revealed that the “ballot turnout was over 38%, with over 96% expressing support for the merger to go ahead”.
Read more: Three-week Boots pharmacy union merger ballot opens today
“The results of the ballot have been shared with BPA members and will now be lodged with the trade union regulator so that the transfer can happen on January 1 2025,” it said.
“More information will be provided to BPA members before the year end and there is no individual action required currently,” it added.
“Greater membership density”
“Other than being part of a larger union and greater membership density inside Boots, the transfer means no change for existing PDA Union members, hence they did not need to be balloted as part of this type of union merger,” it said.
Commenting on the vote, PDA Union general secretary Mark Pitt added that the union looks “forward to welcoming hundreds more into PDA membership through this merger”.
Read more: ‘No sustainable future’: Boots union members to vote on merging with PDA
BPA chair Khuram Ahmad said that “BPA executive committees have led [the] association for over half a century and have now secured a future for the membership that they have confirmed that they want”.
“We will ensure a smooth transition to the PDA Union at year end,” he added.
UK first
In 2018, Boots pharmacists voted to “derecognise” Boots’ own union – the BPA – “enabling a second ballot in 2019 to recognise the PDA Union”.
The 2018 vote to derecognise the BPA was the “first time [the] process has ever been undertaken in the UK”, the PDA Union claimed at the time.
“No group of employees has ever taken a campaign to end recognition of a non-independent trade union this far down the legal process,” it said.
Read more: Boots and the PDA: The never-ending story
It came after six Boots pharmacists lodged a legal challenge to formally “derecognise” the BPA with the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) – the independent body responsible for resolving workplace disputes – in July 2017.
The dispute dates back to January 2012, when the PDA Union called for official recognition from Boots, after alleging that the multiple’s staff employment terms were being “gradually eroded”.
