Of course RAT5 is correct in his assertions and I'd suggest that 99% of crew who still do the daily job of getting aircraft from A to b would agree without reservation.
However, given the huge potential power that we, the pilot workforce, could exert over airline management, what have 'we' done about ever-eroding terms and conditions and bonus-targeted managers who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing?
The answer, of course, is nothing because management have always either managed to 'divide and rule' or played the 'economic ruin' card while still managing to sustain their champagne lifestyle. Until such time as crew, and particularly in the UK, unite along the lines of a union like Vereinigung Cockpit, nothing is going to change.