This discussion has no end..
The discussion about terms and conditions in this business boils down to principles about supply and demand and weak unions. Unions are there to (amongst other things) stop people from accepting ever weakening T&C's and compete by being cheaper. This is especially true in a climate with a higher supply of pilots than demand. This stabilizes the employment model. When now companies circumnavigate this by bypassing unions this protection is taken away, and we hear the "put the food on the table"-argument from pilots accepting lower standards of living to be able to work. Pilots willing to do this were also around before. It's nothing new. But earlier, this willingness to make oneself more attractive to the employer and stockholders by being cheaper wasn't taken into account. You were employed on the basis of other criteria and not on how low wage you could accept.
And this will only continue downwards as long as the unions are taken out of the equation..
We need unionization on a grander scale to create a counterweight to the power of the companies. I would be really happy to see this happen, but experience until now gives me a rather bleak perspective..