Bulletin
ICBC – CEF Meal Allowance Arbitration
April 5, 2018
To: All ICBC MoveUP Members
Your union has received the result of the arbitration award regarding meal allowances for Estimators at CEF. We sent an initial bulletin on the award and our plans for appeal on March 6, 2018. This bulletin provides an update on our progress for this case.
Our Appeal
As we previously informed you, we have appealed to the Labour Relations Board to have the award overturned. It is our position that Arbitrator McEwan has made a significant legal error. Our assertion is that, under the Labour Relations Code, an Arbitrator does not have the authority to amend or otherwise edit the collective agreement which is what has occurred here.
Article 20.06(b) of your collective agreement establishes that where an employee works away from their designated headquarters, they are entitled to claim meal expenses. However, instead of applying the language of the collective agreement and referencing established and extensive past practise, Arbitrator McEwan chose to add a term not required under Article 20.06(b).
Arbitrator McEwan decided that if working away from the headquarters was “not out of their normal routine”, then the meal expense entitlement would not apply. This represents a clear modification of the collective agreement where the parties bargained a meal expense was an entitlement whenever work occurs away from the headquarters.
In the process of amending the collective agreement, Arbitrator McEwan also amended the definition of headquarters established in Article 20.01 of the collective agreement to mean more than the criteria established under this provision in the definition of a “headquarters”.
ICBC’s Appeal
The Arbitrator did determine that ICBC could not change their interpretation of how to apply Article 20.06(b) midway through the term of the collective agreement. This is known as an Estoppel, meaning that ICBC is not permitted to change their interpretation midway through the contract but can do so upon its renewal in 2019 (the collective agreement expires June 30, 2019).
The Arbitrator found that through the established and extensive past practise through successive rounds of bargaining, the Corporation had demonstrated the interpretation held by the Union was correct.
ICBC is not happy with this part of the decision, so they have launched their own appeal on the estoppel. They, accordingly, are seeking to have this part of the award overturned.
What happens now?
Until both of the appeals are complete, the decision is held in abeyance. In other words, the decision is temporarily suspended until the appeals are settled.
For the Estimators affected by this decision, hold on to all of your receipts for meals purchased while on the road conducting site visits. If you do not have your receipts, the flat reimbursement rate of $12.00 will apply. We recommend that you keep a log of all the days you are on the road and the meal expenses incurred.
We will update the membership as the appeals of this case go forward.
In solidarity,
Annette Toth
Vice-President