"Just imagine a 18 year service QF FO sitting next to a captain in a red tailed aircraft with less than 10 years service."
Been done before, S%$# happens in aviation.
"That's why it won't happen. You can't have two people operating an aircraft that don't talk to each other."
Yes you can, been done before many many times.
I don’t have a dog in this hunt - zero interest in working for an old-fashioned legacy carrier.
But QF pilots need to smell the coffee. QF don’t care about your accident free past, they just want bodies in cockpits at rates that are competitive with the rest of the market you are competing within.
"Who in their right mind pushes for LESS renumeration for their profession?"
Anybody interested is selling their labour should. Getting a lower price is better than sitting at home getting nothing.