This argument seems a little strange to me - surely a pilot must expect to be available for his full duty period if required, whether on standby or not? The duty period should be part of an individual's contract, signed at the point of the first employment. Anything else should be open to negotiation.
14 hour days, up to 12 sectors per day plus captain's discretion are not uncommon in some parts of the aviation industry.
Some pilots are also required to carry out the daily check on the aircraft when away from base, sometimes AT base too, due to non-availability of qualified engineering staff.. but that's another story...
