As a manual worker, Charlie's carrying less weight (7)
I believe the answer is:
cleaner
'less weight' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'as a manual worker charlie's' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is found in the answer.
'charlie' could be 'c' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.) and 'c' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'leer' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'carrying' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for cleaner that I've seen before include "Daily help" , "Worker" , "Char; detergent" , "More hygienic" , "Eg, char" .)