It is somewhat naive of an employer that they fear the collective and controlled bargaining that a unionised workforce enjoys.
Unionisation prevents unfair practices from taking plcae ON BOTH SIDES of the divide. Employees cannot just decide to up sticks and start a bun fight without some agreements in place from the greater union body. This affords the employer a good deal of protection and also the customer, at the end of the line.
Procedures have to be followed and employemnts laws followed by both sides.
Having said all of this, I suspect that CHC position with Globally employed pilots is they can align them to individual contracts in each are of operations that allows CHC to bid for work at local prices. Thus a UK North Sea Pilot probably earns substantially more than his collegues say in Thailand.
On one hand, it is easy to see CHCs point of view, but on the other, the implications for all Heavy helicopter pilots is that if left unchallenged we will at worst case see redeployment of global assests to locations where the profit is greatest, and thus the lot of the local pilots cannot improve.
I have always proferred the argument that the Pilots salary and remuneration package should not be involved in the contract bid calculations, just as the DOC on the machine is fixed, so should pilot overheads be also. (I also include engineers in this concept).
The issue here is whether Global pilots have the stomach for a real fight, because it is clear that if they all take a stance, currently unrestrained by the shackles of a union agreement, CHC would really feel how unpleasant things can get with no union agreement in place.
It comes down in the end to each and every mans price. If you are prepared to carry on working for current packages, no prgress will evr be made.