I am no Communist, but funny how when pay cuts are bandied about, they rarely seem to be across the board. Those at the bottom of the pile that have the most to lose, are targeted first.
This is true of any industry. Invariably, those towards the top of the salary pile are paid more because they have greater, more desirable and hence more marketable qualifications. There are fewer of these people simply because greater qualifications weed out those who either can't or won't achieve them. Those who remain are then able to command higher salaries on the basis that they are difficult to replace. Market forces.
Rightly or wrongly, those at the bottom of the pile will always be targeted first as they are the easiest to replace if they leave because the new terms and conditions don't suit them.
This is not unique to airlines. A person working on a checkout is easier to replace than a qualified accountant hence gets a lower salary.