Ultimately this change in policy has been put in place because they don't have enough crew. When they sat at the big table with Timmy and he asked if they could crew the expansion, they obediently nodded. Couldn't do otherwise in the culture of fear.
Now there isn't enough people staffing their machinery and they are reacting the only way they can, by asking the people to do more.
If I was thinking of coming here it would probably be a good time to sit and go slow on your application. Until these kinds of issues a meaningfully resolved this place will lurch from drama to drama. It doesn't have the mechanisms to do otherwise. As this will create problems for all in terms of rosters, fatigue and time off it will reach a crunch point at summer time when they allow the most people to go on leave. Those stranded in the desert oasis will work hard and will have short/night turn arounds mixed with long haul, east and west. Large groups of fellows will get to the 900 hour mark and be asked to do more.
Unless the system really breaks it will never be fixed. Better to watch and wait.