Carnage Matey, I will answer some of your examples because you have painted crew as difficult for following agreements that BA have put in place.
The Matrix you mention is decided by British Airways and not the union. In fact as you are well aware BA have changed ALL the crewing levels on BA E/F flights and consequentially the matrixes and as you are also well aware the union had absolutely NO input into it at all.
The crewing matrix is the level of crew BA want to operate with and has nothing to do with the union. When I first became a Purser I accepted more passengers on a flight than the matrix said (this never happens at LHR and only happens when an outstation takes a late Club booking after the flight has departed LHR) and I was told not to do it again by MY MANAGER as the service is designed around the correct level of crew and accepting more passengers than you have crew for gives a sub-standard service to all the other club passengers.
When you arrive somewhere late and don't have enough time for the required rest it is BA that delays the departure, crew do not demand or even ask for a delay it is done automatically by ops.
I just think this dispute seems to have brought out of the woodwork all sorts of people that just seem to want to have a pop at crew. It is a great shame and it is no wonder that people like me that did not strike feel almost as wretched as the strikers.
I recently had a Captain delaying a flight because he did not like the fish crew meal that had been put on for him. I'll say no more!!!