Pharmacists Defence Association Union v Boots Management Services
In 2012 Boots entered into a very limited recognition agreement with Boots Pharmacists Association (BPA). It was seen as a bit of a ‘token effort’ with a ‘tame in-house trade union’.
The recognition agreement with BPA came just after an independent trade union, the Pharmacists Defence Association Union (PDAU), had made a request for statutory recognition under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act (the Act).
Boots effectively took steps to prevent itself from having to deal with the PDAU (there are rules to prevent one recognised trade union being displaced by another).
The PDAU was not happy and its case came before the Court of Appeal late last year. It argued that its otherwise valid application, to be recognised to negotiate about pay, hours and holidays, was being prevented by Boots’ recognition of a non-independent trade union in respect of other, entirely marginal matters. That, they said, was a breach of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right of freedom of association including the right to form and join trade unions for protection of their interests).
The PDAU lost the case. The Court of Appeal held that the Act gives individuals (rather than trade unions) the right to deselect non-independent trade unions and so the Court was satisfied that there is a route available for individuals to change the union who negotiates on their behalf. If there are a substantial number of Boots employees who want to have PDAU recognised (and therefore BPA derecognised) then one of the individuals could be asked by the PDAU to make the necessary application and the PDAU could stand behind it and guide the application as far as necessary. Once the independent union is deselected (if in fact it is) there will be no barrier to the PDAU’s application for statutory recognition.
