The argument re signing a contract that stipulates retiring at a particular age is nonsense....just as you can't sign a contract to exceed AFTLS as the law always overrides the contract, certainly in the civilised countries as NZ etc. If curtain Rods way of offering contracts was legal then CX would offer cabin crew contracts to 40 and keep feeding in young cheaper crew......fact is they can't do it even if the young ones voluntarily signed to leave at 40........your off target on this one Rod.
The fact that some folks could not get their head around it and move on is why the union could not get a consensus and achieve a better RA deal that would have at least had more increments in the pay scales and the ability for all to choose to retire after 55 at some point and no illegal discriminatory pay cut when attaining 55.
You can't stop the inevitable and we as a group lost this one badly. I would hope that this subject could be revisited for a more equitable result rather than the company getting a complete freebie where the pay cut given at 55 basically pays for the bypass pay. I hear Canada has had some payback of the paycut......is this correct ?.