Wig Wag, this is more than a little interesting. I have never posted on this site before (only registered to address your post) and am a little unfamiliar with its workings. I came to browse it at the suggestion of a professional pilot involved in an action against a UK airline. I represent this man in that action.
Do you have any evidence to prove the existence of this "unofficial concord" of which you speak, or is it merely hearsay? For example, does it meet under the name of an association of airlines or is it a separate, or possibly covert, thing?
I too would like to know if these gentlemen have political control over pilots' employment terms and conditions beyond their normal scope. The questions you have put are right on the button, if I may say so.