BEagle's right, it's all down to supply and demand. I am not a FI and so have no axe to grind on this, but I do use the services of FI from time to time and know a lot of FI's.
It is a sad fact of UK PPL training that the current pricing structure does not allow FI to be highly paid. Anyone who thinks a PPL training organisiation is making a mint is not living in the real world. It would I am sure be nice to have a FTO and pay all your instructors £25K a year and have a dedicated pool of motivated professional instructors, but like so much in the UK, the majority of PPL trainees buy down to a price and not up to quality. I have said elsewhere on pprune before that as long as this keeps happeneing with people shifting to cheaper organisations , no one can afford to pay decent wages, especially when there are so many hours builders, waiting for their airline break, who are willing to work for very little. It's a cut throat world out there. The best hope would be to force all the tiny mariginal operations out of business so the strong survivers could afford to pay good wages and make a good profit.
Don't forget that an FTO is a business, it's not a charity employing wannabes. The only reason they employ anyone is not make a profit. You might be a bit pissed off because of your low wages in a job you have chosen to take, but how much more pissed off would you be if you had hundred's of thousands of pounds invested in your FTO business and and making less return on capital than leaving the dosh in the bank.
All Unions will do is remove your abilty to do the work you do in many cases as the FTO owners will be unable to meet their Demands. If you think you are worth more than you currently earn, go and set up you own operation or get a better paid job. Don't whinge about the current position. If you cannot get a better paid job doing what you do, then you have found the market rate for your skills.
