Longjohn,
Good post - let me clarify.
I do not have a problem with the company leverging previous experience.
The fact that I had flown the B767 elsewhere before joining the company in the -80's was a factor in my selection. I had 2000hrs as an F/O, but accepted that part of the deal was to start at the bottom again. Such is life ect..
The 'best man for the job' principle has been applied for as long as I have been in the company, it is seen (at times) F/O's as tech and fleet managers. I don't have a problem with that.
What I do have a problem, is guys excepting employment and then, once in the company, going behind the back of the pilot body and offering to do the same job as their colleagues for less money so as to be promoted out of seniority.
The seniority system is far from perfect, but (for the moment at least) it is an equitable way of ensuring individuals get a fair go and are not subject to the nepotism and corporate politics that dog most other operators I have worked for.
In the case of the ex A320 capt who is going to be appointed to a management position, my objection is to his promotion to F/O approx 800 numbers out of seniority as part of this deal. He could do the job as an S/O if required, but the company and the pilot concerned are persuing this course of action deliberately and with malice.