remoak
the Ansett pilots were all out of work shortly afterwards. In my opinion, they were poorly advised by a union that was just itching to make a stand - but the staff paid the price in the end.
I'm not sure that Ansett New Zealand is a good example to quote for your argument here. There were a lot of "politics" being played in the background and to blame the pilots strike for Ansett New Zealand's demise is being simplistic in the extreme. It was a convenient excuse for the demise.
Yes, the pilots were probably being paid above the going rate, but that situation was brought about by Ansett management when Ansett New Zealand was set up after the aquisition of Newmans Air and the Aussie pay rates were imported along with the Aussie pilots to expand the operation.
There were much bigger issues regarding the profitability of Ansett New Zealand e.g. the outrageously high lease payments being made to the parent company for the 146's.