Generally, an operator will pay the minimum necessary to get a pilot. If he can find one who will work for $2 a day, then that is what he will pay. If nobody answers his advert at $2, he will have to offer more until the phone rings.
If you are unhappy working for $40K, tell the boss and be prepared to go somewhere else.
Judging by the number of ads for LAMEs, you seem to be in high demand. If you are still unlicensed, do the study and you will reap the rewards. Where I am, the engineers are paid much better than the pilots, because the boss knows which category is harder to find.
And to all those sniping gecko-watchers who abuse Rob Rich for a bit of good news about the industry, you don't deserve to be a part of the industry. There was an operator in Sydney, recently departed, who spent a large part of his life trying to bring down the opposition instead of building the industry up. All he did was leave a trail of anger and hatred, with his continual sniping, complaints to CASA or anybody else nearby, and abuse of all and sundry.
Give the HAA and the industry a chance. You might feel bitter and twisted about something, well, go and join an association and try to change it. All that your sniping will achieve is to make the volunteers, who do a thankless job, wonder why they even bothered to try.
