MEASURING TRADE UNION EFFECTIVENESS IN THE RMG INDUSTRY IN BANGLADESH: THE MEDIATING EFFECTS OF BUYERS' CODES OF CONDUCT

The purposes of this study are to measure the relative importance of organizational effectiveness (OE), collective bargaining effectiveness (CBE), industrial relations climate effectiveness (IRCE) with the effectiveness of trade unions (TUs) and to examine the mediating effects of buyers’ codes of conduct (BCoC) on TUs. This study has been conducted using a positivism paradigm and cross-sectional survey design. Based on the literature and conceptual model, ten hypotheses were drawn. A structured questionnaire with closed-ended questions was developed, designed, and surveyed and had 276 responses with an answer rate of 62.73% using the convenience sampling technique. A partial least square (PLS) based structural equation modeling (SEM) approach is used to analyze the data. The study finds a significant positive relationship between the OE, CBE, IRCE, BCoC, and TUs effectiveness where BCoC results in a significant positive mediation between the relationships of OE, CBE, IRCE, and TUs effectiveness, and such mediation increase the effectiveness of TUs in protecting the rights of the workers in the RMG industry in Bangladesh. The findings of this study have significant policy implications in the Bangladeshi context