Couldn't we have a system of "flying hours seniority"? The airline would still have a way to decide who's going on the next command course (amongst the ones who have passed a command assessment, of course). And it would allow people to move around between airlines - which would benefit us all in terms of pay and conditions. The current system of threatening to strike, or striking, to get pay rises is very inefficient. Why can't we be like any other business out there and vote with our feet if we don't like the way our employers treat us? Like Ron & Edna Johns said: management LOVE seniority. Nice golden prison they keep you in.
Seniority emerged in the times where people like my father worked for one employer all their life (he's not a pilot, it was true for most jobs). Businesses have involved, for better of for worse, into a very fluid global employment market, why should we be so different? BelgArgUSA's story is the perfect illustration of what's so wrong with this system" LHS 747 to F/E on 727??? It's madness.
P