By Neil Trainis

Stephen Thomas, one of the Company Chemists’ Association representatives on the review steering group overseeing reforms to the PSNC and LPCs, has insisted the CCA was not opposed to replacing the negotiator’s 32-strong committee with a board of LPC chairs.

The proposal did not make the final list of 37 published in a report released today and during a press briefing when he was asked if the idea of a board of LPC chairs had caused anxieties within the CCA because of its potential to dilute the influence of the multiples on the negotiator, he said: “No, (we were not opposed). We did a lot of engagement work with the whole of the sector last summer and as a collective, the RSG found it difficult to come to a consensus which was why we were unable to reach a position.  

“[The CCA] has 12 seats on the PSNC committee and we don’t have a particular influence on PSNC. We went to the contractor base and there was universally no support for it.”

Thomas said the concept of having an LPC chair board oversee the PSNC would not have worked because the board may have ended up containing more LPC chairs from the multiples than independents and created an imbalance.

The RSG, meanwhile, again stressed that the LPC levy will not increase, although deep into its 30-page report, it said LPCs may choose to raise the contractor levy “in exceptional cases.”

Aneet Kapoor, an independent representative on the RSG, said “a number of LPCs will need to look at their operating structure” and insisted other factors would come into play when it came to the levy, such as the number of contractors in an LPC area and its geographical location.

He insisted the RSG settled on the 37 proposals after “a contractor-led process all the way through.” However, if the RSG fails to secure a two-thirds majority to push its proposals through, the process could collapse but Thomas said that depended on how close they get to fulfilling the vote.

“If we have a 66 per cent turnout and 66 per cent voted in favour, we would have a hard time turning that away,” he said, adding the RSG will be trying in the next few weeks to ensure as many people as possible vote.