Lots of good posts on this thread.
Tank2Engine …."How on earth do they (management) want us to settle down, when they constantly threaten us with outsourcing and/or base closures, leaving us not much choice other than staying flexible and/or voting with our feet?"
Voting with your feet is not encouraged because of the seniority systems that we hang on to. Going to the bottom of the pile in terms of upgrade and salary renders walking out (unless you leave altogether) not an option. One of the reasons so few if any Mon FOs have gone to UK competitors.