I was dismayed to read the remarks about trade unions attributed to the president of the Law Society when he wrote to the shadow justice secretary inviting a future Conservative government to repeal immediately the Damages-Based Agreements Regulations.When speculating that only trade unions would appear to benefit from these regulations, Robert Heslett is quoted as saying that ‘experience in respect of equal pay deals, suggests that unions may not be in the best position to deliver appropriate results for their clients and those wishing to challenge such deals may well find it impossible to do so’.

It is of course not unreasonable for the president to criticise any purported limitation of choice of representation before employment tribunals. But for him to imply that unions fail to do justice to their members’ employment rights is nonsense, betraying a profound lack of understanding and respect for trade unions and their members. It is also offensive to the many dedicated solicitors working either in or for trade unions in this country.Trade unions have done more to promote equal pay than any other body in our society. Over the years unions have supported hundreds of thousands of equal pay claims, run by either in-house or externally appointed solicitors, and almost all advances in equal pay case law have emanated from union-backed cases. This has often been at considerable financial cost to the unions concerned.

It is ironic that, at the moment the president disparages trade unions and their lawyers, unions in health care (who spent years negotiating a judicially endorsed, equality proofed remuneration scheme for millions of NHS workers) have been taking over hundreds of claims from a firm which advised those claimants that it could no longer help them.

Chris Cox, Director of legal services, Royal College of Nursing