Is it any wonder airline managers continue to hack away at our T&C when there are people like uplink, vagrant, rainforest and others, who are happy to bend over and take it when, and where required.
The facts are pretty well summed up by Dune but maybe a few other brief points may be worth considering.
Firstly ones status, ie single or married has a huge influence on ones opinion with regard to Ts&Cs. Its fair to say that single guys could probably save a reasonable proportion of what they earn, and manage their levels of rest and fatigue quite adequately. A married FO with kids on the other hand probably wont be able to save a thing.
Ones position ie Capt or FO is also worth considering. FOs save little but do have some life style, typically flying 70-80 hours a month. They rarely get overtime, so thus are not bothered by recent changes in the credit system. Captains on the other hand have been maintaining unsustainable levels duty, and flying hours at between 90-100 hours a month, with a good deal of it back of the clock. Couple this with minimum rest turnarounds, some done under dispensations, and you now have a serious fatigue issue. With recent changes some crew have been flying 120hours+.(due to the new rule which only counts stick time towards flight time limitations, and does not include time in the bunk) Recent changes to the credit scheme will result in significant reductions in overtime payments, for more work. Thus again the opinion of a new FO probably does not reflect future realities.
As a general observation in my brief 20+ years in the industry Ive never seen it in such a mess. Ive never seen Ts & Cs, levels of fatigue, disregard for safety, morale, professional status ext ext, as bad as it is today. What airlines are getting away with is nothing short of scandalous. However the masters of such tactics, ie SQ and EK will surly find themselves in more and more deep S#@t (diddly doo) as the market continues to turn in our favor. Rest assured that there will be further attempts to cut our conditions, and professional status as the accountants go through their death throws as they desperately try to justify their floored strategies.
Throughout all this the pilots have continued to maintain the highest of operational, and personal standards while the accountants, as always continue to stoop lower than a snakes armpit. Shame on them!