It's exactly this kind of attitude that has allowed our conditions to deteriorate to the state that we presently find them. If we had taken a firm stance a long time ago, we would not be in this sorry mess today.
This used to be one of the best jobs in the world, that is no longer true. So either you are management, or incredibly naive. Sometimes you have to fight to keep what you believe in.
You keep harping back to 89 down under, the conditions are not the same, but this management is banking that there are enough people with your attitude to keep a core operation going no matter what, and therein lies our major problem. Let me ask you, did you find something else after your dispute? obviously or you wouldn't be posting. Personally I'm at the stage where I don't care any more if I have a job or not. This one ain't what it used to be.