Rob
I'd expand that the reason that pilot's T&C's are going downhill is in fact a combination of management who have no comprehension of what we do each day - being of the opinion, I firmly believe, that 'modern aeroplanes fly themselves, that's what an autopilot is for' and as such wish to get us down to the lowest common denominator, and pilots who are willing to be walked over for the sake of shareholders reaping the rewards of their hard work - hard work which keeps thousands of lives save every year.
Obviously I know you're not trying to dumb down the piloting profession but I do enjoy preaching when the opportunity comes up!
I have to say that before I began flying, I had limited respect for unions. Having now seen the good they can do, and the comparison between those companies who don't have an organised pilot body (no guesses), the ONLY way that this industry can survive as a career is for pilots to start standing up for themselves.
Thanks to Ryanair, people have now think it actuallly costs 40 quid to get an aeroplane to Malaga with respectfully paid staff, and that's because the staff have failed to stand up for themselves. MOL and his sort can replace one pilot making a stand. Can he replace a few hundred? Or cope with the bad publicity? (Don't answer that last bit, I know the answer, annoyingly)
Train drivers did, in fact, once get paid well for their job. They failed to stand up for themselves where we have to succeed. And we have to succeed - I paid the best part of 90 grand for training, I don't intend to do this for a) less than 30 years and b) £20,000 a year.
And what do I think is repectable? Including flight pay, £45,000 year 1 for an F/O if we're paying for training ourselves, up to £60,000 at say year 6, and a captain, who is the man whose name is on the paper saying he's responsible for everything his crew do, £80,000 year one to £120,000 top-of-scale. More for training and standards. And a premium for long haul, which ruins your body clock, your home life and your admiration of a nice stay in a hotel.
I'm only jealous.