Silber, I was witness to a similar thing in the last few days. Returning from a flight my F/O was asked to call 8929 and the duty the following day from an O day was a W pattern. It included 9 days continuous working without a G or 34 hour period off anywhere, his home base of HKG or the two ports on the W.
He politely declined, hung up, and when called back a few minutes later was re-assigned the first part of the W, which was legal but was an example of what a past Chairman of Cathay Pacific termed to me, "malicious rostering".
There are two strategies here, the army of one where you cost the company as much as you can and make a good buck yourself, or the collective way where by keeping to a sensible roster and lifestyle the pilot body may be able to effect change.
Do not be too enthusiastic about the latter, as there are always work-arounds that can be made. MPL instead of S/Os, 155 hour cpls into the right hand seat of a jet, (I know it can be done, I was one 30 years ago, but
was I saved by the guy in the left hand seat a hundred times. I now know it was not a smart system.)
Another example is the CEO of an Australian regional airline that seems incapable of paying the Award or better was in Eastern Europe and Kiev recently to find pilots who would fly for a visa. True blue or mongrel black wings? You decide.
Until the CX pilot force gets a good majority of its workforce organised, the company will continue to negotiate deals on the day. Nice to get the 50,000 overtime, but it is a short term reward. Imagine how the negotiating team feel when the company say "You represent half the workforce, you are therefore powerless, so
off."
That is why you see little dynamism from the AOA. They need the mandate. The best thing the AOA can do is to organise a massive recruiting drive, not along the lines of what they have done, but what they could do with, say, 90% membership.
What d'ya think??