I always feel that there are so many people who most likely have not had any experience of T&C's elsewhere who suddenly become experts in the discussion. Few of us seem aware that if you ask anyone working any job in any industry, they will most likely tell you that they want more money and better conditions. That is human nature. It is no different in aviation.
It does not matter how much people are paid, they will want more if someone somewhere else is getting more than them. Fact is that, if MON, under the current T's & C's, offered greater pay and a better pension than anyone else, not one person would give out. The same would apply for any other company. It is greed pure and simple.
I have come from my previous job where there was no health care, a pension scheme where the company added just 10% OF OUR CONTRIBUTION, where you ate what you brought with you and where as an LTC I was earning £41,000 including all sector pay and expenses. Now, as an FO I earn £42,000 before extras, and while it's not the best pension on the planet, it's a far cry from what I had before. I take home £2,500 a month and that is plenty.
900 hours a year in a 320/321 on 2 sector days is a hell of a lot easier to take physically than the 750 hours a year on 6 sector days I was used to on a turboprop. Where before my days off were used to recover from the weeks work, now I can actually enjoy them.
I can't complain about MON because I am a hell of alot better off than I was in my old place. Sure there are better conditions in other companies, but I don't want to live in London or the middle east or wherever and at the end of the day I didn't apply to them.
By all means, we should try for better T's & C's, but at the end of the day, if you don't like it, get out. I think there is nothing more sad than a 10 year pilot who has spent 9 years giving out about the company he works for. I am in aviation because I enjoy flying and because I know that if I leave this industry I will be cutting my salary in half.