Leroy,
Why do you think your suitcase is reinforced? Of course it's going to get bashed around - not that I condone it being deliberately done, but if people expect to get their suitcase back in as new condition after a few flights they are very nieve, or very stupid.
I hate to jump to their defense, but did you not realise it was baggage handlers unloading, and not Ryanair staff? I lost count of the amount of time I sat in the cabin as crew watching bags being chucked out of the plane willy nilly - people asked me why my airline allowed that to happen, the fact is its difficult to stop it. You can't lug a 20kg bag around a small hold without it getting knocked, or you pulling your back.
*back on topic*
I went to the Ryanair Open Day last month and they were very upfront about the fact you paid for most things. That's how they cut down their overheads. The degradation in general T&C's is not all because of Ryanair, it is as Superpilot states the responsibility of existing pilots and unions. New contracts are brought in, but because "we" aren't on them it doesn't affect us and they are allowed to be introduced for new hires. IALPA have the right idea with the recruitment freeze at Aer Lingus though, so maybe times are 'a changing.
Horgy