This is a free society! Are you really saying my union subs should be spent on stopping people buying themselves a rating? Strewth! Talk about unreal. Define 'democracy' for me please! 'Freedom of the individual' and all that. Good luck to them. It is the jealous ones who get left behind through not being able to fund it that are carping. It's like saying we should all have the same cars, so stop people buying themselves really nice ones!
With all due respect, Rainboe, that is utter rubbish.
The wholesale buying of type ratings erodes t's and c's in real terms for the whole pilot community. In my view, type specific training is a legitimate company expense and airlines that rely on pilot charity to pay for that expense have a fundamental flaw in the business model and ought not to be in business. However, it usually some of the most profitable airlines that are cynically abusing the most vulnerable members of the profession - those at the bottom of the ladder.
Your last line really sums up the selfishness and total lack of cohesion of the pilot community to be able fight for anything, and will be key to the likes of Michael O'Leary being able to split any pilot workforce. It's lucky that the CAA mandate FTL's otherwise there would be those willing to fly extra hours so they can "get that much further".
Airline management love hearing this sort of "I'm all right Jack" sort of talk from pilots - it makes it so much easier to push through the next B, C or D scale pay reviews.