skridlov thanks for your summary of your working life and no one can deny that you have been through the wringer. The issue with being a pilot is that the skills are not transferable and simply walking away is not going to make things easier. As you suggested you actually went from the frying pan into the fire. Most pilots get into this career for the joy and pleasure that flying brings but what we are on about, and this is a worldwide problem, is that the industry is changing at such a rapid pace that the rate of change and the changes being made are making the industry less attractive than what it once was.
I'm not sure what your comments about the involvement of the unions is all about. They have been trying to limit the impact of changes to things such as FTL but largely the unions have been legislated out of the system. In Australia when the unions tried to use innocuous industrial tactics such as making PA's and wearing red ties the executives of the airline shut the whole operation downImagine the outcry if a union tried the same thing. The unions under the banner of IFALPA are also trying to keep the regulators honest with their inherent technical expertise. Its very hard to have a fight with one arm tied behind your back.