Sorry .. I must be thick , have I missed something
A post above says that the (new) Chief Pilot states that authority from the CAA to work 5 on/3 off is not forthcoming.....sorry ,but do you need permission to work LESS than the current 6/3 (sometimes 7 on/2 off).
One thing is certain , you all appear to be unhappy with your current situation and from the comments above ,you sound tired and FRUSTRATED. Unless you work together, you will get nowhere. I would recommend Balpa, even for only 6 months/ 1 year perhaps.You can then speak from a position of strength. If you only get ONE EXTRA DAY PER MONTH OFF ..it MUST be worth the £50/ month subs and who knows.. you might get something a lot better
Perhaps I'm not so thick .... I left for a much better life style.