This is nothing to do with power over people. The purpose of the holding pool is to have a supply of pilots who have been interviewed and are ready to commence training at short notice. Three First Officers have resigned from Air Southwest in the last four months, and the management know that more will leave in the near future. The interview process itself takes time, and you need to have the new joiner online within three months to replace the leaver, hence the need for the pool. The company only has fourteen FO’s, and if they’re going to leave at the rate on one a month you need to be prepared.