February 16, 2005
27.4.53
The employee grieved the employer's refusal to reimburse the travel expenses incurred while traveling from headquarters to location B to attend the grievor's grandmother's funeral, pursuant to section 2.3 of the Isolated Posts and Government Housing Directive and article 17.02 of the relevant collective agreement. The employee requested that expenses be reimbursed.
The grievor was granted leave with pay under the applicable collective agreement to attend the grandmother's funeral. The grievor traveled from headquarters to location B. Before the trip, the grievor enquired whether traveling expenses would be covered under section 2.3 (Bereavement travel expenses) of the Isolated Posts and Government Housing Directive. The grievor was informed that, because the definition of immediate family contained in the Directive does not refer to grandparent, expenses would not be covered. The grievor attempted to clarify the issue upon return to headquarters and when receiving the same response, the employee filed a grievance.
The Bargaining Agent representative began stating that the Isolated Posts and Government Housing Directive (IPGHD) is deemed to be part of collective agreements between the parties to the National Joint Council. The grievor's claim for travel assistance was based on section 2.3 (bereavement travel expenses), which refers to the term "immediate family". Article 2 – Interpretations and Definitions of the collective agreement did not provide any particular definition of "immediate family", but article 17.02 of the grievor's collective agreement defined "immediate family" specifically to determine whether a grievor can be granted bereavement leave with pay; that term, as defined in article 17.02, does include grandparent.
Paragraph 2.3.1 of the IPGHD clearly states that opening conditions for being eligible to reimbursement of the travel expenses are: (1) to be granted leave with pay for bereavement in the "immediate family"; and (2) to travel from headquarters to another location and back. Once the grievor meets these two conditions, the travel expenses should automatically be reimbursed. In order to be granted leave with pay for bereavement, the grievor has to refer to the collective agreement and the definition of "immediate family" included in article of 17.02, which creates a particular regime for bereavement leave with pay.
The Bargaining Agent representative conlcuded that considering that the IPGHD is deemed to form part of the collective agreement, it has to be interpreted as a whole within the collective agreement. The provisions of the collective agreement have priority over the provisions contained in the IPGHD. By giving priority to the definition of "immediate family" included in the definition section of the IPGHD, the employer was restricting the application of the collective agreement, which should be considered as a misinterpretation.
The Departmental representative indicated that there is a distinction between the definition of "immediate family" contained in the collective agreement and that contained in the IPGHD. The collective agreement has to be looked at from a leave perspective, while the Directive has to be considered in the context of travel benefits. Although the IPGHD is part of the collective agreement, the definitions are to be applied separately and based on the nature of the request. In this case, there is no entitlement to bereavement travel assistance because the IPGHD does not include grandparent in its definition of "immediate family". In other words, the application of the definition of "immediate family" in the context of the IPGHD was not related to the leave itself.
The Departmental representative concluded that the IPGHD is intended to be complementary to the collective agreement and agreed between the parties.
The Executive Committee considered and agreed with the report of the Isolated Posts and Government Housing Committee which concluded that the grievor was treated within the intent of section 2.3 of the IPGH Directive given that the definition of immediate family contained in the Directive does not include grandparent. Consequently, the Committee denied the grievance.
The Committee also re-affirmed that the cyclical review process affords the parties an equal opportunity to provide their views on matters which are contained in the Directive.