So how much fight is there for a 30 years of service senior captain with a wife and 2 kids?
While stuck in Hong Hong in deteriorating conditions he will still be on a high salary (minus the 13th I hear) and have pretty good accommodation and education I believe and the best pick of the roster.
Now after 30 years where can this guy go?
Even a direct entry captain will have lower pay (yes overall) but the loss of seniority and the shyty shifts you are given takes the life out of your twilight years of employment, that quality family time at the good holiday periods is gone. Forget holidays for kids summer vacations or any school holidays.
Every 30 year senior would have been against the B scale introduction and a negative look at the pilots that took the B scale jobs with reduced pay and conditions, but the trend on job scales continues.
So we have A scale that can not really go any place unless they want to try a new venture or retire.
We have B scale that are happy if A scale leave or assist them for a better package for them. But they are starting to get some senior benefits and not happy the new C scale are making it hard for the B's to get a better package.
Then we have the C scale that many will happily flow thru the system for a few years to get "paid training" on the jets.
By the time the A's have retired many of the B's will be in the current A's position.
Dropknee - I am not a pilot but do work in the industry. I am currently a member of 2 unions and actively trying to "maintain" and then increase our pay and conditions, our employer is hell bent on reducing our conditions by lots and in return a increase far less than inflationary pay increase. The work we have done in informing the staff of what is happening to them is massive, but they are starting to get united in rejecting the offer given to us.