Man in black, & Great southern land,
Whilst I laud your posts, the problem that we are faced with here is the likes of Bus Ace, and many others from that great southern land, who will not stand up and be counted when the time comes.
They will accept decaying conditions of service so long as they can pay the rent and put food on the table.
It's a bit akin comparing this situation to an invasion of Aust by hostile forces, these people Bus ace, etc. would give up Sydney Melbourne Brisbane and Perth without a fight because they are worried that there may not be anything left at the end of it. The justification they'd use is "no worries mate" we will still have the desert and the Northern Territories. It's not as good but it is better than nothing. Sadly they cannot see how short sighted this view point is. Sometimes you have to fight for that which is rightfully yours no matter how unpleasant it may be.
Management will only pay you what they think they can get away with, when the cost of a particular course of action becomes too expensive, then and only then ,will something change. It's not personal it's business.
We keep taking it personally, which is the wrong thing to do. Do not get angry get even! Sometimes a conventional confrontation doesn't always work best. Ho Chi Min took on the might of the USA and beat them. He didn't do it by confronting them head on, the victory was achieved by finding the weakness and exploiting it. Sure it takes longer but the end result is the same.