Brettslave, friend,
I have taken in your analogy and would like to support your argument but at this stage I only understand one of your reasonings:
Substandard Accommodation-there’s an Accommodation Standard listed in your EBA, the cockroach problem could be fought if you all complain to your union (you’ll probably need more than 1 person to complain but there’s possibly 991 others who would help)
Overnight Allowance-$40 per overnight in 2000 and now governed by ATO rulings to around $90 (where is the miscalculation? or why does it not cover expenses?)
Level 2 wages-increased from $35987(2000) to $46438(8 years on) and on top of this you add bonuses and overtime (based on the ABS model you put forward), $740 yearly productivity payment, approx $1000 rest break payments, approx $5000 for additional hours above your salary, approx $10000 in overnight allowances tax free less costs(say half)=$58178. Is this close to the income total for level 2? You’d need to get the March 2008 ABS figures to compare or recalculate and compare the ABS model against your 2005/06 income.
Crew meals-can’t find any reference to them in your first agreement or the second or third. Is there another agreement about these somewhere?
1 less crew member-CASA's exemption and they only care about the evacuation ratio. Did CASA include your union’s input? Would you all be prepared to support your union and lobby CASA? Pilots could help you lobby because if FA’s are exhausted then pilots are not ably assisted during an evacuation. Have other pilots offered to help you build your case? The union from their website is working to improve your service workload.
Extra sector-in 2000 your rostering limit was 9 hours and 30 minutes and this increased by 15 minutes in 2003 for domestic single duties (on my enquiry for you this limit didn’t apply to long haul duty limits). The new EBA increases the rostering limit to 12 hours (which could cover some long haul duty limits) and in some circumstances reduces it below 9 hours 45 minutes.
When you wake up under the new EBA, you’ll have had an extra 1 or 2 hours sleep, so I can’t see the reduction.
Perhaps list from 1 to 10 what has reduced over the last 8 years. Maybe start with $ amounts and then list all the conditions which have been chipped away. If ATO rulings aren’t high enough, then you'll more than likely need to state exactly why FA’s at Virgin Blue need a higher amount than ATO rulings than other Australian workers.