First of all, if you really want to compare your working conditions with pilots don't be surprised if many do not see the point.
First of all, the limit per year for working (duty) hours is 2000, and we do reach it nearly every year, of course depending on company and network conditions. Doesn't matter if it's day or night, or both. Doesn't matter if we work in constant jetlag conditions because we do fly eastbound and westbound longrange back to back.
Is it so peculiar to interpret that sick leave, maternity/paternity leave or formation should count as working time?
Yes, it is. Even standby duty if not done at an airport is not working time. Neither is CBT training which is nowadays the main method of training, simply because we can do it over the internet from home in our spare time. Simulator time on the other hand is both working and flight duty time in my company, however the flight duty time part is only because of a collective agreement. We do have some minimum conditions for all of europe, and that is probably something you should try and lobby for via your european union but don't be surprised that it will be in all probability pretty bad as well.
In my previous desk job it was simply expected to work somewhere above 80 hours a week, allnighters preceded and followed by a normal day of work were simply, a completely free sunday was a rare luxury. Being on call 24/7 in case some server had problems was also part of the normal working life.