The TUC's new leader believes the prime minister will go for a euro referendum next year.

In his first full-length interview since taking trade unionism's top job, Brendan Barber told ePolitix.com that he believed the government will take the plunge on the European single currency - if the Treasury's five tests are met.

"My guess would be yes but clearly that depends on what's going to happen in the assessment. Everybody is looking to that with great interest," he said

Barber, who like his predecessor John Monks is a close ally of Tony Blair, is in favour of joining the euro and pledged that the TUC would play a big role in a promoting the "yes" campaign.

"If the assessment, which has to be completed by the middle of next year, comes out positively - and that's obviously the first thing now to move the issue forward - I think we will be playing a positive role in the subsequent referendum campaign."

Barber also sought to put distance between himself and Number 10 by talking down claims that he is "Blairite".

"I'm not attracted by labels. I think labels tend to confuse rather than illuminate these things," he said.

On key issues for the future, Barber signalled that the TUC's campaign to end the lowest rate of minimum wage would continue and said the government could end its long-running row with unions over private sector involvement in public services by ending two tier employment contracts.

Praising the government for increasing employment, introducing the minimum wage and bringing in employment laws, Barber argued that the government should have been less business-friendly - a focus on the City that has placed strain on Labour's historic links with unions .

"There's a concern around the trade union movement that the government is too prepared to give attention to some of the kind of business lobbying and the complaints about the so-called burden on business and red-tape," he said.

"We think they've been over-preoccupied with trying to respond to some of the concerns the business lobby have articulated. That's one of the things that's done some damage to the relationship between the government and the unions."

He described the CBI's opposition to changes in the employment tribunal system as "ill informed".

Barber tackled the issue of Labour Party funding by denying that unions were seeking to use their funding as a way of levering concessions from the government, a claim levelled against both the FBU and RMT.

Union relations with ministers are good, he claimed, although Barber accepted that the dispute with the FBU had caused "tensions in recent weeks".

He claimed ministers had got their response to the FBU's wage claim wrong in the early stages of the dispute.

"I was critical of the government. At some stages during the fire dispute the language got rather hard and in a way that I don't think was helpful. There's been some drawing back from both sides," Barber said.

He came out squarely behind the fire fighters but believed a settlement was nearing.

"The FBU found themselves in tough battle with criticism coming from the government and they were punching back in return. But both sides, I think, have wanted to lower the temperature a little bit to create the best chance for the negotiations to succeed," Barber said.

He wants to formalise contact with ministers with the aim of achieving some "success stories" rather than focusing on problem issues.

"I'm very anxious to try and improve the relations to put the contacts on a more systematic basis to try to ensure that we try to reach some understandings with the government about key areas where things can be moved forward in a positive way from our point of view," Barber said.

"My sense is that Tony Blair wants to try to get the relationship back on a more even keel as well. I will certainly be working hard with him to achieve that."