UK tannery and glove maker Pittards has closed following failed talks with a prospective buyer, according to a BBC report.

Most of the 135 staff at its Yeovile, Somerset plant have been made redundant.

According to the report, "Administrators are assessing options with regards to its Ethiopian business and are in discussions with local management in this regard". Pittards Ethiopia employs around 900 people. 

Springs, Gauteng, SA - Hannitan has started work on a crusting plant in Atlantis, outside Cape Town, to open probably in August, MD Rudolf Hanni said on Friday.

      “It’s not replacing Hannitan,” he said. “It’s to alleviate bottlenecks in Springs, and the reason we’ve chosen Atlantis is that it has a more reliable electricity supply.”

      He said the plant would have the capacity to process 1 000 hides/day.

      He said the plant would mainly supply Hannitan, but would also serve the export market.

Gerald Naidoo, General Secretary/Principal Officer, National Bargaining Council of the Leather Industry of SA

General Goods and Handbag Sector:
The second round of wage negotiations took place in Cape Town on 03 and 04 May 2023. The Employer Organisation has made the below offer of settlement to the NULAW & SACTWU.

1)      Wage Increase: An increase of 7% on all prescribed operations with effect from 1 July 2023.

   2)      Family Responsibility Leave: Family Responsibility Leave will be increased by one day’s unpaid leave, effective from 1 July 2023.

NULAW has accepted the employer’s offer of settlement whilst SACTWU has indicated that they would need to consult their members before providing an official response to the settlement offer. SACTWU has not responded to the Employer’s offer as yet.

Tanning Sector:
SATEO has made a final offer of settlement to SACTWU & NULAW as follows:
1)      Wage Increase: A wage increase of 7.25% on all prescribed operations with effect from 1 July 2023.

2)      Learners: The provisions for learners in Schedule 1 shall be amended as follows:
Learner-ship shall apply to employees employed on Bands A1, A2, B, C and E in Sections 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
The period of learner-ship shall be reduced by six months with the removal of the Second Six months of experience. (learners shall earn 80% of the prescribed rate pay for the first six months of experience and thereafter earn the qualified rate of pay for the operation performed).

3)      Family Responsibility Leave: The scope of Family Responsibility Leave will be broadened to include “when the employee’s biological grandparent is sick”
NULAW accepted the employers’ offer while SACTWU will revert by 25 May.

Footwear
The second round of the Footwear Sector wage negotiation will take place in Durban on 16th & 17th May 2023.

Vienna, Austria - Annually, 28 April is observed as both 'World Day for Safety and Health at Work' and 'International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers', which is why the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) chose that day to launch a new course, Occupational Safety and Health Aspects of Leather Manufacturing (OSHALM).

      Full details will be carried in the May issue of S&V African Leather later this week.
 

Hong Kong - For the second year, APLF is being held in Dubai (13-15 March), and the organisers say statistics from APLF 2022 show that 76% participants found APLF "tremendously useful" to their business, and 84% of participants said that they will re-visit APLF Dubai this year in 2023.
         The Dubai edition includes the 3 fairs which are normally held in Hong Kong:
      APLF Leather: Hides/skins, wet blue, crust, exotic skins, leather, materials, machines, tools, dyes and chemicals for tanning, footwear, leather goods, accessories, garments industries.
      Materials+: Sustainable, functional, woven and natural materials, components. hardware, accessories, machineries, tools and supplies for footwear, fashion industries.
        Fashion Access: A wide collection of fashion goods, including bags, fashion accessories, footwear, garments, small leather goods and travelware.