Fair point proplever, most of these folks in jetstar have seen what undercutting does in GA. Unfortunately, as what happened with them in Impulse, no one genuinely cares. There are some great employers in GA but not every one can work for them.
What union looks after the jetstar guys? To be effective then it would have to be pretty powerful.
This suggestion will be very distasteful in Australia but funnily enough it works reasonably well in the UK. Get rid of seniority. A captain working for X airlines can keep command (or be on a fast track) if s/he goes to another airline. They are effectively trading their skills on the open market. A high time FO in a slow progression company can take their skills to another and fast track to command or even go in as a direct entry command. What this has done is ensure the salaries are kept reasonably high.
If what is happening and the jetstar wages are low. Then as soon as the captains have a reasonable amount of time then they can jump to eg Virgin Blue and keep their command status. Therefore to keep the crew jetstar would have to increase the salaries. What would really shake it up if the command time on Dash 8's were recognised and those guys were offered a fast track command in Jetstar. Absolutley no reason why it can't happen and it does happen in Europe.
Many Aussies and Kiwis have kept their command when they left the southern hemisphere and now working as captains for various companies in the UK. Most of the companies here realise to attract captains and high time FO's, they have to offer something reasonable.
From what I can tell in BALPA, the legacy companies have seniority, the new "lo-co's" don't. It isn't perfect but it does acknowlegde previous experience whereas strict seniority won't.
Loozr, have to agree with you regarding T&Cs. A BA A319 captain has a similar salary to a lo-co captain. (Albeit with different perks and pensions). Main diff, it doesn't take ~ 5-10 years to get command in a Lo-Co.
good luck.