Collective Bargaining Agreement Employment Council for the Leather and Footwear, Sports Equipment, Animal Skin Processing and Taxidermy, Leather Goods, Travel and Canvas Goods Manufacturing Industries

This is the registered collective bargaining agreement for the Employment Council for the Leather and Footwear, Sports Equipment, Animal Skin Processing and Taxidermy, Leather Goods, Travel and Canvas Goods Manufacturing Industries, published with the Minister's approval under the Labour Act.

It repeals the First through Sixth Schedules of the existing agreement and substitutes a single new schedule setting out a job-grading structure. Grades run A1, A2, A3, B1 through B5, and C1 through C3, and each grade is defined by a long list of named job titles with a one-line description of the work.

The grading covers four areas. Leather shoe production runs from A1 tasks such as hand marking, off-lasting, trimming, socking, shoe cleaning, polishing and lacing, through A2 and A3 preparation and folding work, to B1 machine operators (cutting, stitching, clicking, skiving, injection moulding, toe lasting), B2 claims and production clerks, B3 keyhands, sample stitchers and graders, B4 production clerk class 1, and B5 production supervisor. The tannery part runs from A1 entry-level operator through machine operators at A3 and B1 (shaving, fleshing, buffing, roller coating, spraying), tannery clerks and pigment mixers at B2, keyhands and drum operators at B3, to assistant supervisor at C1 and supervisor at C3. The rubber factory part covers mixing, milling and bottom manipulation on similar lines. A general, supporting and administration part places security guards, gardeners and cleaners at A2–A3, caretakers and clinic clerks at B1, and a large C1–C3 band covering data capture officers, HR assistants, stockkeepers, receptionists, motor mechanics, bookkeepers, IT support, quality controllers, wages and accounts assistants, buyers, systems administrators, costing officers, safety officers and graphic designers.

What this does in practice is standardise across the industry which job sits in which grade, which is the input to wage negotiation rather than the wage itself. An employer or worker disputing a grading now has a published national reference to point at.

**A caveat on completeness.** The extract available for this summary was cut off at the extraction limit part-way through the general and administration grading list, so the summary above covers the grading structure but not whatever follows it in the gazetted text — including any wage rates, allowances or effective dates that may appear later in the agreement. Anyone relying on a specific rate should read S.I. 177 of 2024 in full. The instrument as extracted states no commencement date.