You seemed to have missed the point completely, White Knight,
as the First Officers at EK now were hired as...First Officers, irrespective of their previous experience or exhaultd positions.
The company could use any selection process it wanted (and apparently did) to entice these folks to join, in anticipation of a, more or less, rapid upgrade.
Clearly the thinking within the company has changed however, as DE Captains are now required.
Guys hired directly into the left seat are harder to come by than co-pilots, and in every company that I have been associated with, these direct entry Captains (and especially training Captains) have been eased right into the operation with the minimum of problems, a few disgruntled co-pilots notwithstanding.
If these co-pilots within the company now had wished to be Captains at EK, they clearly should have applied as such, and not accepted a junior position.
Promises are one thing, a signed employment contract quite another.
Looks like the junior guys at EK fell for the 'promises'....the direct entry Captains will certainly be just a bit smarter.
It has always been thus in the ex-pat world, and certainly not likely to change anytime soon....like it or not.