virgin guys get paid less but have a more relaxed lifestyle.
Not strictly true one both accounts.
Virgins 750, as previously pointed out, does not include all of the other 'BA credited' niff-naff and trivia such as 4:30 credit for Sim checks per day and ground training per day. Time credited for medicals and duty free weeks etc. etc. etc. So whilst some on LH are hitting 900 'credited' hours that will take into account
positioning (often happens LH and very comfy it is too!), training, medicals, duty free working weeks, credited days off for Union duties, School Governership, Magistrates duties and so on. The actual 'log book hours' are considerably less. Add that to 3/4 crew LH trips and you get a very relaxed lifestyle indeed with a wide variety of destinations and a payment system that allows you to choose your trips free of financial constraint/seniority (at least when you are off the bottom).
Pay per 'flying hour' is, probably, comparible. Pay per 'Credited Hour' is not.
Great place to work. My work/lifestyle balance is dictated by how I wish to bid using Bidline. I can ramp up my work to 'bank' hours and then release those hours when I need/want time off in the future. The company are very sympathetic, generally, to the pilot workforce when it comes to family emergencies and sickness. As has been mentioned before the seniority issue is the big one. If, like me, you are happy to restart, give up your command and do the BA command course it is a great place to work. If you want to jump straight into the LHS then it is probably not for you but the time in the RHS, from my experience, was excellent insofar as the crew concept stretches across the cockpit and 'your' sector is truely you own if you wish it to be so.
As to pilots crossing picket lines of ill thought out IA, they were pushed to the back by the hordes of Unite sub branch workers who were getting in there first. Nice little temperamental hand grenade as the number of pilots as VCC was very small indeed.
Enjoy!