Its gone quiet of course....
90% of any staff involved would be of....whats the right term...foreign birth, the company is foreign and has a pretty ruthless reputation within the industry...so it could well steamroller such changes through without much opposition.
Personally, I couldnt give monkeys, if they try it I'll take them to tribinal or similar, I dont have much in the way of financial commitments so could get stubborn and play the game...if they sacked me, so be it.
I realise companies can and do change terms and conditions ...they can get away with a lot if they're careful...I wondered about whether its legal to wipe away your length of service. Its maybe not black and white.
I suspect it is just that..rumour. Thanks for the input, if anything develops, I'll be back.