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

YABU. Good for them. Shows their union is working. That wage includes benefits and is before tax. Maybe the more useful question is: why are some people in crucial and life saving jobs paid so badly and why are some people in destructive and useless jobs paid insanely high salaries?

OP they get final salary pensions ( yes ,Gold Plated Pensions), which have been stopped in the private sector as they cost the employer too much. Its also a contributory factor as to why train fares are so expensive. And no I don't think the role deserves such a high wage, all train drivers earn this.

So many people away with the fairies that the answer is everyone else should be paid more

I don't think it's being "away with the fairies" to want to narrow the equality gap! It's a myth that there's no money . Of course there is, it's just being channelled into too few pockets.

Good for them! I want the people driving trains to be paid a good wage, to reflect the responsibility they have. I'd like nurses, teachers, police officers, etc. to have the same too.

Some people have no idea about how budgets work.

To pay people more money, you need to raise more funds i.e. pay train drivers more = pay more for your train tickets. Pay nurses etc more = pay more taxes.

There should be a balance, if you don't like the wage then chose the job. Its not difficult to discover what professions pay the highest and lowest wages.

I don't think it's being "away with the fairies" to want to narrow the equality gap! It's a myth that there's no money . Of course there is, it's just being channelled into too few pockets

Spot on, Olly :o

How about collecting taxes from all? That would fill the coffers more than increasing the train tickets costs, which already happens anyway.

How about collecting taxes from all?

I don't think that Joe Public wants to pay more tax though? Do the sums - there are relatively few millionaires, so charging every one another million in tax per year is still a tiny figure compared to total tax/spend - far less than increasing basic rate tax by 1% for everyone or extending NIC to all taxable income and not just wages.

"I don't think it's being "away with the fairies" to want to narrow the equality gap! It's a myth that there's no money . Of course there is, it's just being channelled into too few pockets"

Totally agree.

Yep... other public sector workers paid too little... police officers, nurses, doctors, teachers.......... just for a start

It's not a job I'd want to do. Spending hours in the dark, keeping concentration for long periods of monotonous driving. A lapse in concentration could mean injury for your passengers.

That's before you even get to the responsibility of their job if the tube breaks down or they need to evacuate for any reason and the trauma that can be faced if passengers fall or jump onto the lines.

They also have to live in London facing either a long tiring commute and/or insane living expenses.

Pay others more, not Tube Drivers less.

Kazzy - collect taxes from the “relatively few” millionaires and the thousands who hide their money away with various loopholes, offshore etc etc. You can start with the Tory govt, that’s bring a bit. Is Theresa May’s husband still senior executive at trillion dollars investment company not paying tax here?

Perhaps you should look at Andrew Gilligan’s Twitter feed where numerous tube drivers corroborate what Absolute has said, and post wage slips to prove it, OP. It seems that the FOI is skewed, and doesn’t show what you think it does.

Automation is coming, the sooner the better.

Nope, good for them.
Bus drivers don't even get half that and they have a harder job.

"They are overpaid for the job and have too much power".

I'd like you to explain how much you think they should earn, OP.

It's also a bit self defeating that you are relying on the Sunday Times / Times, those bastions of Union hatred and Murdoch right wing propaganda. You do understand that RM never forgave the print unions at Wapping, don't you? And do you remember the way the RM press covered the Miners' strike? I do.

What this tells us is that your rationale is totally, hopelessly prejudiced. I also agree with a previous poster who said your postings are a bit 'working classes don't deserve to earn well'.

So come on: how much should they earn? tell us.

I would shut the whole system down and hire scabs which I would train up and still pay relatively well

How exactly would you do that, Aquila? Are you qualified to train tube drivers? How would you instantly find and train enough scabs to keep the entire system running so as to avoid a loss of millions to city economies?

still pay relatively well
Or would you hire some desperate immigrants and pay them minimum wage.

I'm still waiting for OP and others to say how much they should earn as well.

Been waiting days.

Social workers aren't badly paid either, but it's another difficult job.
Transport workers basic pay is not so high, a lot of it is extra allowances for unsocial hours, overtime etc. A qualified nurse with some experienceis not on the bottom of the pile either, though I support them getting more.
Why are people trying to drag others down. Why not say good for them, what about the rest?

It shouldn't be a race to the bottom all the time.

It shouldn't be a race to the bottom all the time.

Of course it shouldn't, but something has to "give" to square the circle of people wanting more and wanting to pay less for it.

Take retail - it seems everyone wants lots of "shiny new things" but to do so, they have to shop around and get the cheapest - that's a race to the bottom which has cost jobs in UK manufacturing and close to killing the High Street, now that most things are made in Chinese sweat shops and sold on the internet - all so we can have more for less.

Same with taxes - any party promising to raise tax is suicidal and won't get into power, yet we all want better public services - again the only way to square the circle is to reduce the cost of public services and/or increase efficiency.

Whether you like it or not, the "race to the bottom" is caused by every single one of us simply by our actions and decisions.

Kazzy - collect taxes from the “relatively few” millionaires and the thousands who hide their money away with various loopholes, offshore etc etc.

Do the sums. You can take a million pounds of a few hundred millionaires, but share it out amongst the population and it's just a few pounds each. Peanuts. Blaming millionaires is just distraction - yes, of course, anyone involved in tax evasion needs challenging and prosecuting, but it's a delusion to think that targetting a few millionaires will change much. It's all about the numbers - 60 million "normal" people in the UK, compared with a few hundred millionaires - the numbers don't stack up if you expect any significant improvement for those 60 million normal people.

A few hundred millionaires? Are you having a laugh? There are 821,000 millionaire households in the uk, the 3rd largest number in the world

There are 821,000 millionaire households in the uk,

Indeed, which includes "inaccesible" assets such as homes and pensions. Your average GP is a "millionaire" as average pension funds are valued at over a million, yet there are restrictions on what they can draw. As you well know, I was meaning disposable money that the state could easily take, such as money in the bank, wages etc.