Comparing wrongs
Harry
I understand that you are responding to a direct tease. But what kind of a point are you trying to make? That EK isn't bad because there are other bad places???
I am happy that the place works for you. It really didn't for me. Nor was it anything like what they promised in their presentations of rosters, leave etc. I believe that many guys find themselves in a position that they never signed up for.
Truth is that it is incredibly hard to get out of it. Even if there are other options you still need time off to get it all done. I had to find out the hard way that none of your rights as an employee are enforceable in any way. Not even from the safe haven of Europe after running away. Just a quick thought: How can 3,850 pilots comply with the obviously illegal check-in timeline every day? All of you breaking the law on a daily basis by complying and being just as guilty if anything ever happened. That shows you the absurdity of their grip on you all. In any civilized country this nonsense would stop after a single phone call to the authorities. And it would only take a single pilot to report it.
On the other hand any obligation that you might have in Dubai is enforced against you by criminal law. Even an unjustified and false telephone bill that you didn't pay will make you a criminal.
It is this upside down of the world that we are trying to warn the newjoiners about. Make sure you understand the point that if they change the rules over night you will be forced to comply with those new rules. None of the pilots knew about today's rosters and leave policies. Nobody was asked. Everybody has to comply.
The simple management answer: "if you don't like it leave it" doesn't specify what IT is. Because IT chnages on a monthly basis without any checks and balances.
And if they change IT to something that makes you leave who is going to cover the associated cost? The employee covers the bond, loss of pension fund, unemployment etc. You are being penalized when clearly the employer is at fault. This is such an insane concept that people who haven't fallen into the trap yet cannot understand it.
Good night from Europe