4.1 Escort Officers
4.1.1 A suitable rest period for employees who are employed as Escort Officers shall be 16 hours for travel time between 8 and 24 hours; for travel time greater than 24 hours, a suitable rest period shall be 24 hours.
Travel time is the time spent in any mode of transportation en route to destination and/or awaiting immediate connections. This includes the time spent travelling to and from a carrier's terminal.
4.2 Ships Officers / Ships Crews
4.2.1 The workplace of employees who are employed as Ships' Officers or Ships' Crews shall be deemed to be a suitable structure, as determined by the employer:
- at the location of the home port of their vessels, for employees whose normal duties are performed aboard a vessel; or
- at the location where employees normally perform their duties when they are not employed on a vessel.
4.2.2 For any period during which the employer requires the employee to be aboard a self-contained vessel (e.g. a ship, dredge or barge with sleeping and eating facilities), an employee shall be deemed to be within the headquarters area, whether or not the vessel is actually within the headquarters area. In this context, "period" shall mean the extended period during which the employee is assigned to the vessel, and shall not be limited to the actual physical performance of particular tasks during a watch.
4.2.3 When the self-contained vessel itself is outside the actual headquarters area, the employee shall be in travel status whenever required by the employer to leave the vessel and go ashore (except when billeted ashore), and when, during such absence, the employee remains outside the actual headquarters area.
4.2.4 Travel status applies in the circumstances described above when the employee is on sick leave. It does not apply when the employee is on leave of absence. During a period of leave of absence, however, the employee shall be entitled to any appropriate travel provisions contained in the employee's collective agreement, where such provisions are applicable under the circumstances.
4.2.5 Entitlement to accommodation expenses and meal and incidental expense allowances during each period of required absence from the vessel shall be governed by this directive as applicable. Notwithstanding the foregoing, there shall be no entitlements in respect of meals and accommodation while the employee is ashore if appropriate entitlements in such circumstances are provided for in a collective agreement applicable to the employee.
4.2.6 Except as otherwise provided for in a collective agreement, for purposes of weekend travel home, an employee shall be deemed not to be in travel status for the period during which the normal duties of that employee are performed aboard a self-contained vessel.
4.2.7 The provisions concerning emergency or death while away on government travel shall apply to employees who are Ships' Officers, Ships' Crews or other occupational groups and who are serving aboard a vessel while absent from its home port, as if the employees were in travel status.
4.2.8 Over each contiguous three-day period away from home port, employees on board vessels shall be authorized to make up the equivalent of a ten minute phone call home using the equipment available. When satellite communication systems are available and used, the phone calls shall be limited to five minutes.
4.3 Special transportation needs
4.3.1 When a traveller has an aversion to air travel, the employer shall endeavour to schedule the work so that time will permit the traveller to travel by other means.