Hi Deskbound,
If you had contact with Etops, they should be able to tell you what conditions to expect. If not, surely you'll get a contact name/number to the person in charge of these details.
My guess is that it should be more accurate than hearsay.
The job seems hard but you get your hours and move on, take what you can while you can, accept some of the hardships and move faster to better climes.
Cheers,
Flex