Dear colleagues,
I am writing to you in my capacity as lead PDA negotiator for the ongoing pay discussions with your employer, LloydsPharmacy. We are acutely aware that your pay increase was due on 1 April and, although any agreement we finally reach will be backdated to 1 April, we are now significantly behind in securing an increase in pay that meets the objectives set out in our claim.
It is important to emphasise that talks have continued since early February and the company have made offers that your negotiating team, (made up of PDA Union officials and your national reps, who, like you, are pharmacists employed by the company), do not believe are acceptable. They have therefore been rejected on your behalf. These include offers to increase pay by 1.8% and 2.3%, the latter coupled with a Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) that will deliver further increases in income, but not for two years.
Discussions are now at the stage where we are waiting to see if the company can improve its offer by using some of the money earmarked for the LTIP scheme now to help address the cost of living crisis we know members are facing , rather than it being used solely to improve retention by delaying payment for two years.
Unfortunately, the change of ownership of the company occurred during the crucial stages of our negotiations and has inevitably delayed the process. At this stage we are urgently seeking assurances that the company is still considering points we have made about how best to use the money available and that they continue to be in a position to make an offer that includes a pay increase from 1 April and proposals regarding an incentive plan.
As soon as we have a confirmed offer from the company, we will publicise the full details of it and members will be consulted fully on whether or not it is acceptable. Your views will be essential in determining our response.
At the moment, however, we can only ask that members wait for further information and accept our assurance that this will be made available as soon as possible.
Kind regards
Paul Moloney
PDA Union National Negotiator and Lead for the LloydsPharmacy Negotiations
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