As long as Pilots like Flexman do not even understand what a Direct Entry (DE) pilot is they remain part of the problem, and Easyjet will continue to take advantage of them.
As mentioned above large numbers of Self Employed contract FOs have been off setting the costs of their Type Rating against their tax bill. Most have off set it over a 12 month period which has now finished and the reality of what they will actually take home each month is starting to emerge.
Also, the fact that under the Merlin offer they would be circa £50k worse off due to the clause which zeros captain loyalty bonus when they swap seats means the penny is finally dropping for even the most short sighted contractor.