To think tube drivers are overpaid as most earn 60-70k and get free travel

[nickiredcar]

Surely they are only paid so much because they run a monopoly and people have no choice. I think it's an argument against unions. Considering lots are semi automatic it does seem too high that they are now out earning pilots.

Apparently they are striking because one of their drivers was sacked for failing drugs tests at work three times

Op has obviously been reading the Daily Fail.

Btw Tube drivers earn about 52- 53k per annum

With overtime and shift allowances the vast majority are making 60-70k, excluding pension benefit and free travel. This has been going on for 10 pages and that fact still hasn't changed..

@Ated, let me ask again though:

Under qualified how? What qualifications do you expect them to have and how do you know what qualifications they do have?

You've answered how you know what qualifications those in rail unions have, but not what qualifications you expect them to have, and by extension, how they're under qualified.

That is incredible. I really had no idea. I need a better understanding of pay before I advise my kids, obviously. Most people I know closely earn less, and that's wuth degrees etc.

Well it's not a race to the bottom. We should all be able to earn that much!

AbsoluteBeginners7

That table you posted, are the amounts paid before tax is deducted? My DH gets £40,000 but that's after tax.

Nickired there are no shift allowances, and no overtime, with the exception of around 1% who are test track operators.
This is fact, please name your source if you know otherwise.
Our basic salary is our full salary

The issue isn't a tube drivers salary. The issue is the dickheads going on strike over a colleague failing a drugs test.

2 people have been sacked where I work for this recently. One on a construction site and one in a high risk production area. Zero tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol as they are high risk environments where you can kill people. The union had no issue with it.

Nickired the 60-70 you quote is including our free travel and our pension contributions.
Again please quote the sources you are getting these figures from

The reason why rail workers have very good T&Cs is quite simple. They have a strong union and they all stick together. A lot of other industries have crap unions or spineless workers who are unwilling to make a stand for the greater good. They end up with crap pay and t&c and are constantly hunted and picked off by their employers. No one gives you anything. You have to fight for it.

It does seem unfair, but is that because they are overpaid? Compared to say a pilot? Or is that so many other jobs we could list are so underpaid?

As I've said several times, it's the Sunday times and they explicitly said that's excluding the free travel - that's why I said so in the title.

If you beleive the Sunday times to be wrong by all means do so.

But there's been so many lies and unbelievable stuff on this thread - like the DH that earns 40k odd and has 2-3 suicides every single year.

The tube will be fully automated soon hopefully then they'll have as much time as they want to strike.

I was listening to James O'Brien earlier on the radio and a tube driver rang in. They earn £52,927 (I think) as their basic pay. Anything over that is overtime pension etc.

It's not a lot in London and south east.

As lots of others have said nurses teachers police etc should all be paid similar.

Why is there a race to the bottom? Good for Bob Crow (RIP) and good on the union for protecting their workers.

nickiredcar I did say in my very first post that he earns £40,000 after tax. It's not a lie, I don't know what your problem is!

It is a job I wouldn’t do for £1 million pounds a year. They deserve their money. If something goes wrong down there, just think about it.

That why do you keep coming back with more and more lies?! Ridiculous.

That was a typo I apologise, it was meant to say after tax.

But you're being so aggressive and it's really not necessary!

Nickiredcar I’ve been doing the job for 20 years, I wish you were right but you’re not.
We don’t do overtime we’re not allowed.
That figure includes pension contribution.
What’s your job that’s making you so bitter?

In that environment and with the not infrequent ‘ persons under a train’ , no, I don’t begrudge them a decent salary to live and work in London.

Loathe the RMT union with a passion, though , for their unending series of strikes on Southern and SWR which make so hard for everyone else to get to work in the week or get around at weekends

OP who anyone else who is jealous, has still not answered what they should be paid?

20k or less maybe?

How many people defending tube drivers on here actually live in London, and suffer at the hands of another tube strike when they run out of kitkats in their vending machine or something similar.

We study hard to work hard and our days are made much much harder by the striking unions. I studied for 7 years to do a very difficult, stressful care-sector job. I get paid far less. They could at least do their job and get me into work on time.

If you defend them, I bet you don't commute in this city

I think it sticks in the OPs craw that working class people can earn a good wage. It’s all a bit poor people should know their place.