FPSLREB Decisions

Leave entitlements - Ships' Officers - Lay-day system - Extrinsic evidence - Estoppel - grievor objected to employer's memorandum indicating how it intended to interpret a new provision of the collective agreement which had been recently negotiated - employer alleged that the new provision merely provided a conversion factor from days to hours for annual leave credits and did not double the number of leave credits for employees on the lay-day system - grievor and bargaining agent argued that the new provision did, in fact, double the leave credits which could be earned by employees in the bargaining unit on the lay-day system - extrinsic evidence was adduced whereby it was established that during negotiations the employer's representative had, at the bargaining agent's request, reviewed the material the latter was sending out to the employees in the bargaining unit in which the bargaining agent set out its understanding of the effect of the new provision and the representative had not advised the bargaining agent that the employer disagreed with its interpretation - the employees subsequently ratified the agreement - adjudicator concluded that the bargaining agent's interpretation was more in keeping with the scheme of the collective agreement - in the alternative, adjudicator found that employer was estopped from asserting a different interpretation. Grievance allowed.