Finals the market has always being dominated by "those who can afford to fly will”. Apart from the military or ab intio cadet programs it has always being pay to fly. PPL, IR, CPL, ATPL, who paid for yours? SSTR is just an extension of what has being going on for years. At least with FR you have a job after spending the dosh. How much were you guaranteed when you started your ATPL ?
Hard to believe but at one time airlines hired pilots off the ramp and trained them from zero hours but that is no longer the case. If enough people stop turning up that will be the case again but until then Ryanair and everyone else will pay as little as they can to get the labor they need.
If the pilots in the UK and elsewhere want to change this stop blaming the people at the bottom with zero leverage and start doing something. The old model of captive customers getting stuffed to pay for what ever deal the monopolies made with their labor are long gone.