If they are so desperate for you to be there working (crew shortage) and as tey will not want to spend time & money on another OCC for new crews, I would have thought you have a strong bargaining chip to tell them what YOU are going to do, rather than a 'please sir, do you mind if I get my rights.' Possession of legal facts will avoid an awful lot of blah blah tennis type conversations. As with most airlines they will push you to the limit and try to creap a little beyond. Push back with just cause and they usually backdown very quickly.