James, take our friend yamaha for what he is....a clown.
, although I do find him quite amusing.
As for working hours, I for one would hate it to be regulated. I am a B1 certifyer with a LCC, working in line maintenance with a 12 hour 2 day/2 night 4 off shift pattern. Basic wage with shift pay/approval pay etc is good. Put in a few hours o/t and the money is excellent.
These days, at least in the company I work for, shifts longer than 12 hours unless you are down route for an AOG are unheard of. All the extra hours overtime are on rostered days off. I compare this to years ago whilst working for Dan Air when ghosters were common. We even used to work ''reverse ghosters''! That was working a 12 hour dayshift after a 12 hour nightshift. Now
that was a killer
Overtime is an option. You can take it or leave it. I personally enjoy this option of an extra grand a month if I want to buy something.
At the moment, we as licenced engineers/technicians/mechanics (whatever
) are in demand. I look through the back pages of Flight International and every month there is a job that I could fill if ever the need arises. I personally feel contented by this and am pleased that experienced engineers are in demand. The fact that craft apprenticeships were abandoned by the major carrier's in the 90's have strenghtened our position no end. We should all be gratefull.