Hello and welcome to The Rundown, a podcast from Politics Home with me Alan Tolhurst.

This week, in the latest episode in a series of a Parliament summer recess, speaking to experts,

looking how Labour performed in their first year in office, we're focusing on the world of work,

from employment rights, public sector pay, and the government's relationship with the unions. Having come into office promising an end to the strikes in a number of sectors, and repairing the relationship with public services, as well as sweeping changes to workers' rights, how well are they doing so far? We'll be to discuss all that and more, and like to be joined by Paul Novak, General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress, which represents 48 unions, a total of 5.5 million members.

And I've begun by asking him how well he felt the government has done so far for workers.

I can't believe you're really asking me to grade the government. But let me give it a go, Alan. I mean, actually,

on some of the key stuff that really matters towards the employment rights bill, cast your mind

back to before the election, the government said that they would deliver a bill within the first

100 days of a Labour government and absolutely delivered on that commitment. And we're not quite there

yet. We're weeks away probably from Royal Assents for the Employment Rights Bill. But I think that's a really important. It will be the biggest upgrade to workers and union rights in a generation. Of course, employment rights matters towards the Employment Rights Bill matters towards. I'm happy to talk a little bit more about that later on. I mean, there's been lots of other progress as well. Maybe we can get into the discussion. But it's fair to say is, well, that, you know, the government hasn't got

everything right over the last 12 months or more. And where they haven't got it right, we've had to tell them that they haven't got it right. Oh, I didn't give you a grade, did I in the end? Well, no, it's fine.

Look, I was going to do a football metaphor because Sidney Khan said that Labor were, you know, 2-0 down.

But I was going to avoid it given, you know, Everton start to the season.

Oh, yeah, well. I was going to do a football metaphor because Sidney Khan said that Labor were, you know,

two-nill down, but I was going to avoid it given your Everton start to the season. Oh, yeah. Well, thanks for reopening that moment. Well, look, I'm a Manchester United fan, so I'm trying to drag everyone down at the same time. So that has broadly been the theme, whether they've been, you know, either former Tory ministers or labor MPs or people from think tanks. And, you know, it does seem as though there is that kind of, it's broadly positive. No one has been kind of overly negative. They've all said, obviously, there's more work to do. And the fact is that they talk about the inheritance that Labor took over and the fact that they're one year into a five-year parliament. There does seem to be, I think there's a more positive story more broadly, I think, than perhaps is the kind of the overall narrative. Would you say it is? Perhaps from your end, you know, do you feel that it's a bit overly negative and there is more positive stories to be told? I mean, you know, the government, without a doubt, has had a harder time in the press and media than Tories ever did during their 14 years.

And they did absolutely inherit, you know, they were left behind a toxic legacy, not just in terms of, you know, the economy, things like wages, but what had happened to our public services over those 14 years.

And you can't put everything right in the first year of a government, no matter how bold

or how radical or how ambitious you are. Having said that, I mean, I think even where the government

has delivered, and so I mentioned the employment rights bill, but you know, if you think about

industrial strategy, no, coherent industrial strategy for the first time more than a decade,

and practical action. So, you know, recall in parliament to save those jobs in british steel working with the union is absolutely the right thing

to do there's sometimes been a mismatch between what the government is delivering and what

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