However, I would argue that the decline in T's and C's in recent times has been sharper than ever and has meant that the current struggle is somewhat different to previous times.
Fair point.
I think financially some of the recent changes, not just the PP change, but the agreement back step on variable pay wasn't the cleverest move ever made and I don't have a solution to that.
As for lifestyle, I think there are issues other than senority that have worked against folk here ( dare I risk mentioning EASA in shorthaul?) certainly the demand for Part Time Working (PTW) would perhaps indicate that rostering is not a bed of roses, even at quite senior level. I found PTWing was the only way I got reasonable element of control back for at least some of the time, but I can understand why for financial reasons that is not an option for the more junior.