RE: Do they want some cheese with that whine?
"When I was employed (I'm now self-employed, which is arguably worse) it was a case of "you WILL work 70 hours a week being paid 35 or someone else more willing can have your job".
Is that legal? No. Does it stink? Yes. It's also a fact of life. Get used to it."
My friend, that is what trade unions are for: fighting that kind of illegal bollocks. It doesn't have to be a fact of life unless you want it to be, though I suspect you'll be one of the ones who go all prissy about how terrible unions are for taking collective industrial action to protect and improve terms and conditions and legal rights of workers, who think Thatcher was right etc etc. Yawn.
Me, I work 35 hours/week, period. Overtime is at agreed rates, though hardly ever required. But then we have unions and collective bargaining and proper t&cs. If there's 70 hours of work to be done in a week, then the employers should be hiring a second person to do the second job, thereby keeping someone off the dole as an added bonus.
You don't like it, don't take it: fight it. Join a union, recruit others, take collective action as required. They have to recognise unions by law if enough staff join up.