The next time your company-emancipating DEC decides to cut corners on SOPs or regs in order to save the company a few bucks, just tell him "NO." Too many F/Os feel there is nothing they can do in situations like this. There is plenty you can do.
All that said, I hate to say this, since you EK F/Os are seemingly already beaten down, but what did you expect? I know more than a dozen of my buddies back home who left decent jobs (even jobs with Legacy carriers) for the pursuit of the EK/ Dubai dream. Having been there many times before, I warned them it wasn't all it's cracked up to be. Their reply to me was that all commentary on prune was from whiners and that life in Dubai was/ is great. They pretty much maintain this same rap to this day.
For those who come from countries with limited aviation options, EK is a great alternative to what is offered back home. But for those of use with better options, I wonder why they gave it all up to come to EK. No legal rights, no union, DECs, the wx, the M.E., etc. It was pretty obvious to us outsiders that this sort of stuff was coming eventually. It should come as no surprise to you all. But now is not the time to go anywhere, sorry to say. Suck it up for the moment, be glad you have a job (a good job) and vote with your feet when the industry improves. Low morale will certanly cancel out any savings derived from this latest EK stunt but you'll have to remain put until the global economy improves (though I'm sure there will be another industry crisis once that happens as well... always a crisis in this business).