Hey Wooblah. I totally agree with you. However tis not as simple. You have guys who have big debts, families, half way to command and will have to start over... bonds, loans to the company... pensions, etc etc... All things that prevent anyone from "walking" suddenly from a job. You ever walked suddenly from a job? You aware of the time and effort it takes to START another job? Unless you already were working on something for a year, then it’s impossible.
You’re basically facing about a year of no income. In other words, we are held hostage not by only the companies we work for, but our own individual circumstances as well. The Chinese are dishonest and disengenuine. They have no ethics. They will tell you will get your command next year and smile and tell you all kinds of things to pull the wool over your eyes and then Jan 1st send you an email that you are terminated. And if you even suggest that we should get it in writing beforehand then you deserve a kick in your reality pants because we all know that NO ONE in the entire world is going to do that.
I fully agree with you tho...that I wish more guys would do exactly as you suggest. A more robust market will cause that to happen. But what do the Chinese do then...then they up the anti temporarily to keep you. Then when business falls...your back in the trash bin. Anyway some of us don't have the luxury of a union legacy carrier. Not everyone gets to work there. Another part of the problem is as pilots we are always held hostage by our training cost and promotions. Managements have learned that they can use this against us.
In other careers this is not possible. As an Accountant for eg, you can just move laterally into a similar position elsewhere. Whereas for us, most places you build seniorities, or have to start years of service for command over again. So as you can see, it’s not so simple. But the more that do as you suggest, the better. Perhaps you can start a global union for us and have an income protection plan for us all to join? Ethics is a 2 way street. Deception is hard to see being that most of us are generally good natured. And parking airplanes and uploading extra fuel etc... LOL. You work for a Unionised legacy don't you? It’s obvious you have never been out of your cushy unionised legacy job. This is a sure fire visit to the office and a black mark on your record. If you turn around on a MEL and they find it’s not necessary they will punish you. It’s a culture thing. Sure they visit the IATA conferences and are polite and all that. But they totally ignore all the wisdom that has been learned over the years and revert to their culture again. You will have a CRM class, and it is spoken over an over "safety is first" but in reality with the Chinese, it is not. Only $$$ is first.
If they need you, you’re safe. But the minute they don't, and you cost more, you’re gone. That’s it. I think the best thing is to not take any jobs there if there are any options. The best thing is to nip it in the bud. Even the desert is better than working for the Chinese. Or Japan or Korea. At least there you know what your getting from the get go and they behave ethically.