Hello Gillegan,
I was told the Zimbabweans recently challenged the ERP Policy using the official procedures and won after a lengthy struggle. As a lot of them had been kicked out of their home country and had been forced to move elsewhere they probably had a good argument.
Speak to some of them, but the "official channels" appear to work. A comparitively small number making a strong case, and EK tried every excuse to put them off and wear them down - but eventually saw reason.
Guess you need a few people, fighting a strong case and a lot of perseverance.
I'm not saying it never works and am glad for those who prevailed. What I was pointing out was the lack of professional treatment at the hands of HR that I received. It's not even the outcome that was so galling, it was the initial refusal even to meet with me and then, after acknowledging my argument, the statement that even though I was correct, that I would receive no compensation. To me, the attitude that "we'll do whatever we want", is one of the biggest changes that I've seen since TC took over from MF and it is something that I'm seeing in a lot of different places - from HR to Flight Ops. It is also (IMHO) that attitude that is resulting in an erosion in our reporting culture (if there ever was one). Most pilots I know now don't even bother with CSR's, ASR's etc. because of the perception that it is just a waste of time. In a well run organization, process and accountability is transparent and even handed. I don't know many who would argue that it is anything close to that here.