There is an increased awareness of industrial relations climate as an index of labour-management relations. Yet there are conceptual and methodological problems associated with this topic. Consequently, in the present article a model of industrial relations climate is proposed that focuses on six central components of in-company industrial relations, namely, industrial relations policy, supervision, worker representation, grievance procedures, disciplinary procedures, and organizational communications. The In-Company Industrial Relations Climate Scale (IIRCS) is then developed. The scale consists of six, five-item sub-scales, designed to assess perceptions of the six components of the industrial relations climate model. Based on studies among 1 950 members of three South African mines (gold, diamond and platinum, respectively), satisfactory internal and temporal consistency was found. Factor analyses confirmed the six-factor structure of the IIRCS for all three samples. The IIRCS also displayed acceptable criterion-related validity. Future research priorities for the IIRCS and industrial relations climate in general are reviewed.
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