I like it - "bleating", "goathead" - very funny!
Anyway, I digress. As far as income goes I have no idea, likewise I have no idea about how often the GC meet. However, I think it would be reasonable to assume that if we were to hire a greater number of professional advisers than we currently use then subscription rates would have to rise. At some point, individual members would have to be convinced of the benefit of the increased cost. If nothing were to happen as a result of the increased subscriptions then standby for a steady dwindling of numbers. If, however, there were quick results then possibly the opposite would be true. So, the GC are between a rock and a hard place on this one. We do need to bear in mind that in the past, the company have said that they wouldn't negotiate with anyone other than GC members.
I agree with your point about committees and personal agendas but I think rules here in HKG require some sort of democratic set up in a union as opposed to an autocracy. That being the case, any direction taken by a committee will depend upon the relative strengths of its members.
As far as 25 year housing etc goes, the GC can only ask for meetings to discuss these matters but if the other side prevaricate what can they do?
STP