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Canada’s EU free trade deal is emerging as the model David Davis wants the UK to follow.

The Brexit Secretary told the Commons Exiting the EU Committee on Wednesday it’s “quite a good template” for worker rights.

That’s not how unions see it.

The Canadian deal only meets International Labour Organisation minimum standards which is fine for countries trying to eradicate child labour.

But there’s nothing in it to protect paid annual holidays, parental leave, or the right to the same working conditions if your company is taken over by another. Shadow Brexit minister Matt Pennycook told Brexit Countdown: “David Davis is proposing a bare-bones agreement on workers’ rights.

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

“Many Tories want to use Brexit as an opportunity to slash protections. That’s not why people voted for it.”

And TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady added: “It offers lots of protections to foreign investors but nowhere near enough to protect workers.”

Under wide-ranging powers in the EU Withdrawal Bill ministers could strike out workplace rights at the stroke of a pen.

But, hey, we get to join ILO member states such as Qatar, South Korea and Colombia, so that’ll be nice.

Except Qatar’s migrant workforce of two million is banned from joining trade unions and O’Grady’s South Korean equivalent was jailed for five years for organising demos which messed up traffic.

In Colombia they murder trade unionists.

Nineteen were killed in 2016.