To answer Skykreeper:- the salary for a F/O on a B200 or 1900 type a/c is between $1000.00 and $3000.00 per month, with food, accomodation and transport. Airfares, injections and medical while you are working is also provided.
OB you sound like a few people I know, using words like scam and giving the incorrect impression. Performance bonus is an amount over and above the salary and is usually around $ 500.00 per month, so a top paid F/O would get $ 3500.00 when this is added in.
Have you ever considered what it takes to run a contract from the Back End and yes performance Bonus is also usually applied to management types and beancounters but they only get it once a year. It is also funny that dispite begging and pleading for years, since the implimentation of the dreaded PB suddenly the weekly reports get sent, we can actually read what is written on the flight folia and they are also filled in correctly. These small details might seem superfluous to you but the flight folios are a legal requirement, as you should know and are also checked by the CAA and all the customers,i.e. the UN WFP and oil companies when they do audits. Passing these audits, is a prerequisite to keeping and getting contracts, which by the way keeps the management types and the crews in a job.
Just another point, a lot of the management types were working contract before most of the crews were born, and did not have internet, cell phones etc. so when you went away, you were out of contact with the family untill you got back.