Incidental Expenses

Background

The employees contested management's decision not to reimburse the incidental allowance for the period between April 9 to May 4, 2004.  The grievors were required to work on a ship which was in dry dock for repairs.  During the repair period, the grievors did not have access to the kitchen for meal service and were required to travel to the city.  The department reimbursed the grievors for meals only.

Bargaining Agent Presentation

The Bargaining Agent representative stated that the grievors contested the fact that, in accordance with the Travel Directive, management disallowed incidental expenses (in the amount of $17.30 per day) for the period from April 9 to May 4, 2004.

The representative argued that given the circumstances in which the grievors found themselves, they should be considered to be on travel status in accordance with the Travel Directive, Part IV, Special Travel Circumstances, paragraph 4.2.3.

He noted that cleaning the oil tank as part of the work done in the engine room gave off fumes, and that the repair work produced noise 24 hours a day.  Given this repair work, life aboard the ship was unbearable.

He indicated that during the repair period, management did not provide meal service aboard the ship. He added, however, that management continued to house the grievors in their respective cabins aboard the ship. Given the living conditions aboard the ship, at least one of the grievors took refuge in commercial accommodation in the city.

The representative argued that the ship did not meet the criterion set out in paragraph 4.2.2 of the Travel Directive: the ship was not self-contained. He therefore argued that the grievors could not be considered to be in their headquarters area, but, instead, were in an area outside their actual headquarters area.

As well, the representative noted that, in accordance with paragraph 4.2.3 of the Travel Directive, when employees are required by the Department to be absent from the ship they are considered to be on travel status.

Since management did not provide meals aboard the ship, and the grievors were required to leave the ship for their meals and the ship's galley was simply not open, the Bargaining Agent representative argued that the grievors were eligible for reimbursement of incidental expenses, in accordance with paragraph 4.2.5.

The Bargaining Agent representative also noted that, in accordance with paragraph 3.3.7 of the Travel Directive, employees travelling in Canada with an overnight stay are to be reimbursed for incidental expenses.

Departmental Presentation

The Departmental representative argued that paragraph 4.2.2 of the Travel Directive applied specifically to the grievors' situation.

The representative confirmed that, although meal service aboard the ship was impossible during the repair period, the grievors continued to be housed in their respective cabins aboard the ship and had access to the resources normally available. He noted that the repair work done aboard the ship was part of the normal maintenance cycle, and that the grievors could work on the repair team.

The representative reported that management authorized reimbursement of meal expenses incurred by the employees working aboard the ship up to a maximum of $54.65 per day, the daily amount then authorized by the Travel Directive for meal expenses.

He noted that a restaurant was located approximately 10 minutes' walk from the drydock, and that employees wishing to change restaurants had access to the vehicle assigned to the ship during the repair work.

The representative argued that the Travel Directive is quite explicit, adding that the allowance referred to in Module 2, Travel Outside Headquarters Area - No Overnight Stay, paragraph 3.2.7, Incidental Expense Allowance, does not refer to this module.

He added that when the grievors were required to leave the ship for their meals, management reimbursed their meal expenses in accordance with the Travel Directive, and provided them with means of transportation if required. That said, he added that in no case were the grievors required to obtain accommodation onshore; thus they did not meet the basic criterion for entitlement to reimbursement of incidental expenses: travel with "overnight stay", as set out in modules 3 and 4 of the Travel Directive.

Executive Committee Decision

The Executive Committee considered and agreed with the report of the Government Travel Committee which concluded that the grievors had not been treated within the intent of the Travel Directive.  It was agreed that the grievors were in travel status as per subsection 4.2.3 of the Directive, since they were required to leave the ship for meals and make phone calls.  As such, the grievors were entitled to incidental expense allowance for the period between April 9, 2004 and May 4, 2004.

The grievances were upheld.