Just so as the "know it alls" (who actually don't) can get some grip on the reality of the situation, this is a dispute about agreements and contracts, not just "days off" as the "ignoranti" would have you believe. In order to simplify it and dilute it into something more "soundbitish" that the "ignoranti" can perhaps grasp, you will need to understand some of the nuances of long-haul flying and the rostering procedure.
Again, simply putting it (for the ignoranti" of course), the pilots receive a roster approximately two weeks before the following month so that they can paln their lives and their days off. On the rosters there are "Rostered Days Off" (RDO) and "Non Rostered Days Off" (NRD). An NRD is a day off that you have no control over. They are only ever rostered the day after a trip. For example, the shortest long-haul trip is three days long. Day one you operate out to destination. Day two you operate back from destination but it is usually overnight (at least when eastbound) and you arrive back on day three. The rest of day three is a "rest day".
Once again, for the "ignoranti" the jet-lag associated with long-haul flying does have an effect on your lifestyle and it is not simply a case of arriving back home and just getting on with it. Normally, on a one night (three day) trip you would get a minimum of two days off after the trip. However, if you are delayed down route and you arrive a day later than planned, and, if the "day off" (fourth day) after your trip is rostered as an NRD you are not entitled to any compensation for having worked on a day off. Likewise, should you arrive at work before the trip and they require you to operate a two night trip (four days instead of three), you would not be compensated for working the fourth day.
So, in order to differentiate, between RDOs and NRDs, the company can require you to work on an NRD. It is not a day off that you can plan ahead with. Whilst delays down route are unavoidable from time to time, you could end up working an extra day. If it was an RDO then you would be entitled to compensation. However, if your one night trip (three days) has an RDO rostered after it and you arrive at work and they tell you you are now going on a two night trip (four days) you can politely decline or accept compensation.
In the agreement signed between the flight ops management and BALPA at Virgin Atlantic, it clearly states that the pilots will be rostered 120 "RDOs" a rostering year. It is only reduced on a yearly basis by ten days for each standby month a pilot is rostered. On a monthly basis, the number of RDOs can be reduced by one day for every three days annual leave or three days sickness. However, the short fall of 120 RDO's has to be made up over the rostering year. All the company has to do to get this right is change some NRDs into RDOs which they have suddenly been doing. However, the flight ops management have decided to challenge BALPA over their interpretation of the agreement and have cynically stated that if a pilot does not work over an NRD then that "retrospectively" becomes an RDO!!!
So, for the "ignoranti", the long haul pilots do not have the luxury of those who work 9-5 Monday to Friday. They do not know what days off they will be working more than six weeks ahead. They like to have some stability over their lives and therefore would like their flight ops management to stick to the agreements that they have signed with them. This dispute is only one of several that are simmering in the background since the current flight ops management team decided that they were on a roll after breaking the cabin crew and the engineers unions (and subsequent lack of them).
The pilots are not "militant" and they are not stupid. They have all worked hard to get to where they are. They all put in the effort and the time with other airlines over the years. They are a goal oriented workforce who never fail to pull out all the stops to get their aircraft and passengers to to their destinations when, invariably, something goes wrong (more often than not due to management incompetence). Their flight ops management, however, have decided that they can break the union and thereby erode the pilots terms and conditions at will. With around 95% BALPA membership together with dedicated and hard working reps, the pilots are resolved to show their flight ops management that they will not accept these methods. The flight ops management think that their pilots do not have the resolve. The pilots know that they do.
If it ever gets to ballot, then perhaps their flight ops management will realise that they are in a no-win situation. The pilots hope that their flight ops managers come to their senses before their own bosses realise that they have to deal with the damaging results of possible industrial action. The pilots do not want this fight and it is not necessary if the flight ops management stick to the agreements in place.