QF, like most western incumbents, has been strong armed by belligerent labor unions into perpetuating pay and conditions inherited from a bygone era.
Perhaps you'd care to share with us some examples of union belligerence over the past decade. QF pilots just want to be able to negotiate with the company in good faith and generally be left alone to get on with the job.
During my almost 20 years in the company we've never come close to PIA. We've had pilots that have applied to transfer to J* under lesser T&Cs, as per the MOU the company agreed to, and this has been denied. After an ultimatum from the company to save $8m or face redundancies, the required savings were organised quickly with minimum fuss (only to have it handed straight to GD).
None of this sounds very belligerent to me.
I suggest that QF pilots should tread very carefully. The arrival of the 787 to replace a large chunk of the airlines wide body fleet could be the opportunity your managers will exploit.
I have no doubt management's ultimate goal is to have the 787 crewed by an outside group on reduced conditions, possibly foreign based. But there is an abyss of industrial action, bad publicity and profit warnings between where we are now to them achieving this goal. I would suggest it's reached the point where most guys are willing to roll the dice. The real question is whether the CEO or board members will survive the turmoil.