Tailscrape,
The Britannia CC are not happy about the six CTC recruits at all. There has been (and still is ongoing) a lot of discussion on this topic as there is concern that this is the thin edge of the wedge in terms of having contract pilots in Britannia. The latest CC newsletter goes into quite some detail in regard to this. The company has given its assurance that this is not a permanent departure from their "normal" recruiting procedures and is merely due to a late decision to hire pilots this year and training constraints due to this years Haj and possible fleet change. If the company starts to show signs that contracting pilots in like this might be a more regular thing than you will see BALPA become much more involved. It is all well and good if the CTC scheme gets you in on the bottom rung, and gets you that all-important first job and experience, but if it means a life of working contracts and the tremendous lack of security that that involves, well it just isn't a career worth having any more. Some people like that kind of lifestyle but most of the people I fly with in Britannia would absolutely hate being a contract pilot. There are so many issues, like pensions, seniority, a change in the industry can see you chucked out in a split second (and lets face it this industry is more knee-jerk prone than most), erosion of pay levels and on and on....
Lazlo