TNO,
Surely you can see an ALARMING gap between aircrew, and a sim-tech! A sim tech can stop, walk around, grab a meal, and go back to work (all the ones I ever worked around did!).
If a sim tech depletes his energy reserves, starts muddling things, and the like, who can he hurt except himself (unless he falls onto someone from the gantry)?
Aircrew cannot stop what they are doing, stand up, walk around, grab and sanga, have a chat, and go back to work.
If aircrew deplete their energy reserves, starts muddling things, and the like, who can they hurt? Couple hundred on board, and potentially thousands on the ground...
I know you deliberately seperated your response from safety concerns, but everyone seems to shirk the issue.
If it came down to management deducting a small amount out of paypackets for meals, then so be it, but it is not a good thing (most international airlines provide food for tech crew!). A sandwich or two would merely cost the airline PENNIES, and surely their profit, EVEN on low cost sectors, covers the cost!
I still ardently believe, as Kap does, that it is a safety obligation OWED to not only itself and crew, but the travelling public.