Bangladesh's "Industrial Police"

That's a police force specifically mandated to keep the peace; labour peace.

As in you can't be having the workers running wild with demands for a living wage and, God help us all, "benefits."

To understand how Bangladesh became a powerhouse in the international garment trade, you have to have a look at their Bangladesh Labour Act of 2006. Said Act was intended to "increase productivity and enhance a favourable climate for investment."

Sound familiar?

It should. That's pretty much the standard mantra for any right-leaning State government trying to bring in right-to-work-for-less legislation.

Yes, we all want to increase productivity and create a favourable climate for investment, don't we?

How else are we going to compete with Bangladesh?

But seriously, how can we possibly increase productivity and enhance the investment climate without following Bangladesh's lead and instituting Labour Police?

Then, instead of multinationals like Caterpillar being forced to uproot their manufacturing facilities in high-wage jurisdictions, they could just send in the Labour Police to knock some sense into the malcontents who insist on a living wage.

And sick time, and holiday pay, and dental plans, and blah blah blah....