Airbourne, I see where you are coming from with re. the fixed contract people and I admire you for that; we would all want to get a fair deal if we were in their shoes but what I doubt to be fair trade is giving my rights away so that someone else can have them. What we are talking about here is a management exercise; they are easy ways, filling one cup to empty another or carefully thought decisions that do not erode anyone's human right to a decent job.
As far as I understand "fixed term contracts" appeared in the employment arena to fill in gaps with re. peaks in work, so my understanding is that it is them who should have restrictions on Leave allocation, not us. I remember a while ago, this happened and permanent people were working their butts because temporary workers were taking their leave.
Management get a fair deal of rewards for a well-done job if company performance goes up... so please, let's encourage them to do their job the same way they expect us to do ours; they can put some more thinking time to this issue and I have no doubts they can come up with a much better quality decision, fairer to all.
Meanwhile, can I suggest to stand our ground; otherwise, next time we will be asked to give our sales comission towards the fuel burnt on go-arounds!