Hibernia, thanks - it's a rare thing that someone agrees with me!
In seriousness, though,t here are captains there who do have a spine and will do what is right, not what is demanded. I get in a lot of trouble for it, but haven't been suspended or fired despite some threats to that effect. I'm not alone in that, either. There is an awful lot of pressure to do exactly what you're told, and if you use your judgement and do things differently, you will be made very uncomfortable. Not as uncomfortable, though, as you would if you had an incident because you did as commanded from on high. You sometimes need to remind yourself when you feel the pressure that they are just an employer, and even if they fire you for not toeing the line, that is better than losing your licence or having an accident. Of course, there are those who are more easily cowed, just like in any company.
I have to say that the standards of RYR pilots are generally high. There are exceptions, but the bulk of us do the right thing when needed. Where we a really stuck is on Tsand Cs, because of the legal shenanigans of pan EU bases impeding the efforts of unionisation. But that mustn't be confused with how the guys and gals operate.