National Pharmacy Association chief executive Paul Rees has played down concerns its work-to-rule strategy risks alienating the government and insisted Labour ministers are “incredibly warm” about its campaign.

Rees (pictured) told the Pharmacy Show in Birmingham the NPA was balloting its members on possible action, which would give them the choice to reduce their services and cut their hours to contract minimums, confident in the knowledge Labour politicians understood “the need to give additional investment to the sector.”

When asked if the NPA risked getting off on the wrong foot with the government, Rees said Labour was keen to avoid the bad publicity pharmacies embarking on work-to-rule action would generate.

“Secretaries of State try to control the media narratives. There’s a media (part of) government, they look at all the media coverage and they are keen to not have issues highlighted,” he said.

“But we know that’s the only way we get the message across. We’ve spoken to loads of politicians and across the Labour Party have told us they get the severity of the financial crisis in community pharmacy.

"That’s because they’ve seen the news headlines, they’ve heard the stories on the Today programme, they’ve seen it on BBC One and ITV.”

The health secretary Wes Streeting warned the Royal College of General Practitioners conference in Liverpool this month that GPs’ collective action will “only punish patients” but Rees was unconcerned similar action taken by pharmacies could bring the sector into confrontation with Streeting.

“If you make a robust case as we’re doing, we’re fighting for community pharmacy, that doesn’t militate against a positive outcome,” Rees said.

“All the meetings we’re having with Labour politicians behind the scenes are very positive. They understand exactly what we’re saying and what we’re doing and it’s getting cut-through.”

Rees said he has met the health minister Stephen Kinnock twice and insisted he understood “how bad things are in community pharmacy.”

“He understands the crisis community pharmacy contractors are facing,” Rees said. “The government wants to shift care from cure to prevention, from secondary care to primary care. Stephen Kinnock was clear that can only happen if community pharmacy is supported and the network is saved.”

Rees also insisted other MPs have “got the message” having seen the NPA’s extensive national media campaign for pharmacies to be better funded and medicines supply to be improved.