I don't know if you fly, or how familiar you are, so forgive me if I make assumptions.
Our
flight pay or duty pay, call it what you will, is specifically for when we are away from home / base. We get an annual salary (which in your analogy a shelf stacker would not) which bye and large is pretty good. Flight pay is on top of this, as is sector pay.
I would love it to be statutory, but it isn't. And being a realist, a) from a different walk of life originally, and b) married to someone who works in a different industry: in the real world it is inconceivable to be paid an allowance for when you actually aren't at work and are at home! It's almost as bad as our esteemed MP's have been claiming expenses!
Apologies if you do fly, and therefore understand
but if you aren't, then butt out until you understand it.
PS Please cut the nonsense about BALPA only looking after BA pilots. Much time, effort and funds is expended by the association my airline, and it's actually quite insulting to hear this sort of rubbish. BALPA has dropped the ball on the pay-to-fly stuff, but to be honest it's more a reflection of it's members, who are finally waking up to the threat this poses to all of us.
Bollocks. Look at Dreamshiners poll, and then understand how most of the workforce truly feel about BALPA. Perhaps your username gives you away?
Defend BALPA as much as you like - they are looking the other way deliberately as the industry turns to ****. Never has "I'm alright Jack" been more appropriate.
Problem with this? Then BALPA, come and defend yourself and turn all us disillusioned pilots into card carrying members. We want to be, but whilst you have no balls and couldn't give a **** about us, why would we?
Come on, talk to us!