ezydriver - you are right that nothing in the deal that ties the company to employing the cadets on the Second Officer scale. However, the deal was agreed with the company for the specific purpose of doing just that and I fully expect that many cadets will be offered the new deal in November as agreed. If that does not happen, there would be massive repurcussions for industrial relations and that is simply not in the company's interest.
Regarding the longer sector pay 'promised' to ex-GB drivers, no one was ever promised that in any document that I am aware of. Phillip Smallwood was very specific about that in all conversations - he made it clear that longer sector pay was not on offer. If you or others believed anything to the contrary you were simply mistaken. I am ex-GB myself (albeit before the takeover) and have no axe whatsoever to grind with the GB guys - nonetheless it is important to know what was actually 'promised' as opposed to whatever people might have been led to believe by well-meaning colleagues. For what it is worth, in my judgement the easyJet takeover is the very best thing that could have happened to GB pilots, given that their erstwhile mates at BA no longer wanted them. Less than a year later GB would have been finished and many, if not all, pilots there out of work. Instead of that, all pilots were taken on in their original position (including Training Captains) and they were given 'seniority' based in some cases on a date prior to the existence of easyJet! The GB guys have been, and continue to be, a huge asset to easyJet. The overhwhelming majority of them have fitted-in well and enjoy life here. They probably work harder than previously, but given the stark alternatives, I would humbly suggest that at this moment in time a permanent job at easyJet is a very desireable commodity. It is undoubtedly true that one or two hate easyJet with a passion, as indeed do a number of our own home-grown folk. To such people, I would respectfully invite them to seek employment elsewhere wherever that wonderful job is - I wish them nothing but success. I would also point out that despite the ups and downs of the command assimilation process, way more GB pilots have been promoted than would ever have been the case under the old GB system. I heard a figure the other day that by the end of the summer easyJet will have had 158 internal promotions (I cannot verify that figure, but believe it to be correct). How many companies in Europe can match that?
No company is perfect, but for all its faults many of the gripes that have really antagonised the pilots have been actively addressed. We still have some way to go, but I cannot think of many better companies to work for right now. There are those out there who have found their promised land, and I wish them well, but for many people easyJet is a very pleasant and secure place to work where you fly brand new Airbuses to a wide variety of destinations every day. I for one am grateful for that opportunity and therefore will continue to work here for the forseeable future.