Just a couple more tidbits:
CHC's pay structure is a legacy item from their days as Canadian Helicopters. When they still had 2 domestic Canadian divisions they hired VFR guys right from school and the levels made sense. For a time promotion to IFR captain would jump you up to level 10, etc. As the International division became the focus they started offering entry at a level on par with "time licenced" or "in an equivalent job". If you had been flying or holding an AME licence for 14 years, you came into the company at level 14.
There was little pressure to compete directly with the big competitors (Bristows, Schreiner, HeliUnion, etc) in wages as they had a captive workforce: Canadians. Canadian tax law will not give a tax break for working overseas unless you work for a Canadian company. You had to get at least a $20K per annum raise just to break even (or lie to the government, which has its own risks).
Then Mr. Dobbin divested himself of the domestic divisions and CHC proper was born. Initially the acquisitions operated independantly once purchased, as Court and Schreiner did. This setup allowed each division (business unit) to continue to exploit their individual strengths:
Court and Canadian: captive workforce
Helikopter Service/Scotia: closed market
and others...
Then CHC was forced to streamline and align their operations. The old Canadian Intl payscale won out as it was lower, and the 'Incentive Pay' for the bases were used to up wages where necessary. The system is imperfect, we all know it, but it will not be an easy evolution as there are so many variables for each of us in the workforce to deal with. Management too.
I did like Schreiner, who like Bristows had a 25 level scale based on total flying time and YOS. The stability of the 12 equal payments each year was also nice. CHC is trying to go there.
Don't get the impression I am a fan of the CHC system, but enough has already been said about the Bristow's system.
In Nigeria:
A level 14 CHC captain is at CAD 119,562 / USD 114,010 / EUR 82,461 (equal time).
A level 14 AME is at CAD 108,642 / USD 103,597 / EUR 74,929.
A lot better than I am doing now.