With all the time sitting around belly aching about payday at Arik for years
With all due respect I think you indulged in a bit of this and then left the company. Nothing wrong with this.
However it is a bit unkind to say this:
Most pilots, however, are just lap dogs who will take whatever they get.
Most expat pilots are at Arik Air because of the 30/30 commuting contract (you were on a much worse contract of 56/28) and only remain because such a contract is virtually unobtainable anywhere else.
Regarding the pay situation. Arik have done and still do push the boundaries on what is reasonable. Some pilots however do apply a bit of pressure to keep Arik 'honest' - seems to work.
Hope you are well.