It takes about 2 weeks to receive an answer but they always come back to you. Having said that, a petition should have more influence.
Open Des, sorry to hear about your KLM's story. Unfortunately, you can face discrimination almost everywhere in Europe. Airlines probably try to protect their market but is it really fair?
By the way, I've never experienced any discrimination in the UK which is not my native country but did in other European countries. It could be my personal experience... or just a matter of language. Everybody speaks english and that makes UK more "approachable".
However I don't understand selection's criteria like "holding a National Diploma" or "Only for xxxxxx citizens!". or Companies who don't even take the time to translate their job's offer in English. Don't we deserve it?