The 89 returnees came back to work under conditions dictated by the company, take it or leave it and these conditions morphed into what we know today as the SH award. Companies would generally rather have less numbers of employees to do the work and pay overtime, if necessary, rather than employ more people and reduce or eliminate overtime. Payroll oncosts are significant.
Brought up under this system the SH pilots have become wedded to the cash and have built their lifestyles and financial commitments around it so I can understand Speedy wanting to hang onto the good old days.
It is however at the expense of extra slots as GB says. One conclusion you can safely draw is that unity is still some way off in QF.