Conceptually if studied one notices that the Low Fare Airline and indeed the Corporate model has TRANSFERRED the cost to the employee.
Whether it is for a mobile phone (to be contactable) to Type ratings companies have enjoyed transferring the cost to the employee. This was all predicated on Unlimited Supply.
In the extreme cases, companies like Ryanair and Uber treat the employee as a contractor. The contractor provides their own Superannuation, holiday loading and sick leave etc. Labour unit cost, particularly with the ancillary support services like remuneration (payroll/leave/benefits) no longer need consequently fell! Recently the UK ruled that Uber drivers are employees.....
Pilots are a vital ingredient to an airline, for without pilots, those expensive aircraft generate zero revenue sitting on the ground.
Smarter airlines realising the demographic structural shortage and are moving away from adversarial IR models.
Interestingly those costs once TRANSFERRED to the employees, including type ratings are now correctly being absorbed by the company as a COST of BUSINESS.
This is not a result of benevolence, it is necessity. There is a real sustained and accelerating shortage.
There is a growing and obvious shortage which is not as Mr Booth from the AFAP alleges, and I paraphrase 'part of the business cycle'
Whilst no one is advocating ambit claims from unions. Unions ought understand the shortage and the leverage it delivers to restore balance to their members remuneration and life balance./ s