A few words here, but first, to one and all, best wishes for a fine new year.
The bonus system is inherently a flawed way of rewarding people, especially at the lower end of the meat logistics trade. This has been precisely demonstrated in the previous posts. Bonuses are well received until they decrease or are removed. At that point chagrin, resentment and ill will replace the previous warm seasonal glow which so habitually accompanies a reward perceived as being more than justified.
A salaried job, by its very nature, exchanges a wage for a productive commitment. A thirteenth cheque is only deserved under circumstances that fall entirely within the discretion and benefice of the employer. There is no right to such a cheque any more than there is a right to a place in heaven, unless of course, profit sharing is written into a contract and that with an exclusion clause for the clergy. But then, by the same token, perhaps a hellish thought, salary reductions are implied if not inscribed within such a contract in the event of company loss.
Two mobiles has, by the way, always been, especially for captains, nothing more than normal industry common sense. It is both a noble challenge and great sport to evade and avoid the machinations of those whose mental stability, educational or intellectual acumen and knowledge of the law, let alone its rational interpretation, are always open to serious question. One refers, of course, without any trace of disparagement, to those dear kids in crewing.
In the elder days of Eastern, when EGSH first came on stream, young Richard was heard many times to opine that he wished to visit each base once a week in order to encourage crew and personnel morale. This concept of benign governance fell by the wayside fairly quickly and, although no longer with the company and thus privy only to rumours, one heard that pilot administration had fallen into the clutches of hard men whose opinions of themselves might possibly have been greater, or so one was led to understand, in more than even part, than their estimation of those who worked and travailed under their ne'er so humble eyes.
The French refrain, 'ze company, she is not the same' was one that springs to mind and damn me, by all accounts., it wasn't, by all accounts!
Still, and yes indeed, young Richard has done well for himself and for others too, providing many jobs for those who would not otherwise have flown at all ! Furthermore, it is rumoured that his Jetstreams now have autopilots. This is more than can be said for DB9s where, at one time anyway, cruise control was an optional extra.
