.....the argument is why a QF pilot thinks he needs to be paid more than a singair/thai/china/NZ pilot to suffer the same lifestyle problems.
Well leaving aside tax and cost of living issues which make that a grossly oversimplified comparison, most LH QF pilots are
not in dispute with Qantas because they "think they should be paid more than everyone else".
To most QF LH pilots including myself it doesn't matter a rat's (pardon the pun) what we get paid if Alan Joyce is hell bent on sending our jobs offshore, shrinking the premium brand significantly, and causing our Qantas career prospects to grind to a complete halt (which they already have right now). It just doesn't matter what we get paid. I don't care a fig what I get paid until the above problems get addressed because until I have a career and long term job, pay is entirely "notional"!
It wouldn't matter if I took a 50% pay cut. Joyce wants to wind up mainline as much as he can and send the jobs to Asia regardless. There is no point in negotiating anything at all if he is going to do that. If he decides not to send mainline business across to Asia, then we can start talking efficiencies, working harder, who gets paid what, etc. But until then, it simply doesn't matter. You're debating pay scales for an Australian job which is about to cease to exist!