The fact we (NATS) have people earning well under £30k as well isn't something the media would be interested in.
An unsympathetic media would contrast an ATCO at Swanwick, on £90k a year... driving into work in his Porsche to do an extra shift for £550 on top and then threatening to ruin your holiday plans because he wants his gold-plated pension scheme to be paid for by customers - which then passes on through the airlines to passengers - against a background of credit crunch, meteoric fuel price rises etc etc.
However, that doesn't mean to say the decision to strike wouldn't be right and justified... the trick is to communicate why it is so.