spannersatcx, you are absolutely correct in what you say, the airline is made up of "Cabin Crew, Engineers, Cleaners, Caterers and the list goes on and on". Unfortunately, and REALISTICALLY though, any of the aforementioned groups can be removed, and the planes will continue to fly, but only as long as there are pilots - when all is said and done, pilots are the linchpin on whom the ENTIRE airline depends. This is not an egotistical point of view - a mere fact upon which no-one is able to disagree, like it or not.
"Market forces" have been a well worn cliche cited by companies for downgrading the pilots' conditions over the past decade or so, and it is now those same "market forces" that are responsible for determining the pilots', engineers', cabin crew, cleaners, and caterers' remunerations.
Perhaps management ought to be thanked for implementing this concept during the "Asian crisis".