Voices: ‘£72k is a ridiculously good salary’: Reader debate erupts over London Tube driver wages

Independent readers are split over this week’s Tube strikes and the £72,000 starting salary for drivers.

While some saw the package as generous and questioned the industrial action, others said it’s simply not enough to live in London, echoing Eddie Dempsey, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union.

Many readers questioned whether such a salary, plus pensions and perks, is fair for a job that mostly involves operating doors and driving trains, especially compared with nurses, teachers, and junior doctors.

Some went even further and suggested the introduction of driverless trains, nodding to the success of the DLR.

Meanwhile, supporters of the strikes pointed to high living costs and the London housing market, arguing workers are entitled to pay that keeps pace with inflation, emphasising the role of unions in securing fair conditions.

Overall, readers were divided, balancing criticism of perceived union overreach with support for workers seeking equitable pay in an expensive city.

Here’s what you had to say:

Ridiculously high

If you look at the median salary in London, let alone the UK, £72k is a ridiculously good salary for someone who's effectively pushing/pulling a lever and opening/closing doors.

Driving a bus in London is a lot more involved as it takes a lot more focus and concentration to cater for pedestrians, cyclists, etc. What are they paid?

I've heard people saying "oh, but the trauma of people jumping on front of trains" or "they inhale that crappy air". This is like saying "a fireman has to deal with fire…". They knew what they were getting into when they took the job.

Speaking of which – you have firemen literally running into burning buildings, saving lives – how much are they paid? You have paramedics weaving through traffic, having to deal with sometimes aggressive/dangerous patients while trying to save their lives. How much are they paid? Teachers?

Sorry, but it absolutely boggles my mind why this is even being entertained. I have to ask – if the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) is already computer controlled, why on earth do we still have tube drivers? Surely this can be done the same way? Are they afraid the unions will kick up a fuss? Phase it in – up skill drivers in other roles. Give retrenchment packages and end this nonsense.

Phasmax

What do you think? Should Tube drivers’ pay reflect London’s high living costs, or is £72,000 already more than enough? Share your thoughts below.

The union must accept consequences

The union is fully entitled to fight for what it believes is right for its members. So if they want £72k and a four-day week, go for it.

But they also have to accept the consequences. Passengers may have been reluctant to ride driverless trains but not so much anymore, and these strikes will only precipitate this shift.

Furthermore, if the drivers want shorter working weeks because of stress, management should hire more drivers (on well-defined contracts), end all overtime, change current working practices, and slash all perks – a reasonable exchange.

As for the customer service staff, their position is even more precarious, with unmanned stations and increasing automation.

There is always a balance to be struck between the competing interests of customers, employers, and employees. So the union needs to be careful not to overplay its hand, which this seems to be doing, otherwise it will open doors it won't be able to close.

Moez

Mass disruption

The RMT's union leader's comments are facetious and self-serving. There are very few classes of workers who can cause as much trouble for ordinary people as the rail unions can.

For most workers in the private sector, unions are an anachronism and strikes an expensive and unobtainable luxury. The previous nationwide rail strikes cost the country billions, and so are these tube strikes costing the capital. As well as everything else, the loss to hospitality means losses to the vital taxes, which pay for these people to be able to strike.

Steven1954

Basic arithmetic

The average house price around the entire London area ranges from £562,000–£715,800, and in order to be able to get a mortgage, say for £600,000, you'd need to be on an annual income of £120,000–£135,000, which is almost double £72k.

Surely this is basic arithmetic and doesn't even account for the enormous deposit they'd have to lay down.

Amy

Low-paid workers

The majority of members striking are those on the lower wages that are considerably worse than those of the drivers. It's like a new doctor being criticised because consultants are on a ton load; they may work for the same company but they are not the same people.

karlostheheckle

Bus drivers have it worse

Maybe the unions should be focusing on the low pay for London bus drivers, who work just as hard but for much less pay. Tube drivers are well reimbursed compared to the average London wage, and they should be thinking about the inequity in pay with drivers whose work is probably harder than theirs, when they don't have to turn left or right, and there's no other traffic to contend with.

Londonrain

Driverless trains

Apart from not being able to hold a placard due to not having an opposable thumb, a trained mouse could do the job of a driver. All they do now is operate the doors. 18 months' training and £72,000. Give us a break. Bring in driverless trains.

hayriver

No need to live in central London

Tube trains are mainly parked out in the suburbs overnight, where there is more available ground and cheaper housing – and for those drivers who live elsewhere, there is free transport.

There is no need to buy a house in central London or in a high-cost locality. Unlike the other much more poorly paid staff like teachers and nurses, who get no transport help…

Dodgy Geezer

Taking us for a ride

Their package is worth over £100k once the final salary pension is factored in. With 30 years of service, a tube driver today will retire on an index-linked pension of £38k (more than most people earn from full-time work).

There should be no support for these people and their unions. They are taking us for a ride both literally and metaphorically.

Ian Robinson

Greed has caused this

Good for them. Not only that, the average 'house' price for London is also taking flats into account, so the real price of a proper house that will support a family and not a flat for a couple will be even higher. Rentiers' and capital's greed is what has caused this.

supersonic

Tube drivers vs doctors

So the RMT believes train drivers are worth more than resident (junior) doctors?

£72,000 is a good wage.

I'm sure many would be willing to do the work for less.

RichardtheLionheart

Free travel

Don't they get free train/tube travel to enable them to buy further out of town and commute for free? When I went for a job with London Underground back in the 1980s, that was one of the perks offered.

Fur-Q

Abhorrent

The fact that tube drivers are paid so much more than teachers and doctors is frankly abhorrent. There is a right to strike over unfair pay/working conditions, but a £72k starting salary is in no way "unfair pay" – we need to be paying our nurses, doctors, and teachers more, and tube drivers less!

I'm in my late 30s, and my first full-time job paid me £4.85 an hour, and my first salaried job in the public sector in my early 20s was £21k, which after five years, including fully qualifying and getting two promotions, had increased to £28k. Even now, as a senior global manager, I am on £10k less than a tube driver!?

SoMrHarris

Pay should match inflation

£70k is the £30k of 2010 – it’s nothing. Everyone needs to fight for better wages to keep up with the UK’s failing economy. The price of your food, fuel, and bills is not rising… the pound is becoming less and less valuable by the day. Yes, teachers are underpaid, along with many other sectors, agreed by all.

But can you blame London Underground workers for demanding pay rises that align with the retail price index? That’s what everyone should be doing, or we all face poverty. Remember, we still live in a world where the banks that are benefiting from huge interest rates are paying out millions in bonuses to their staff. Just saying.

BlackfenDen

Overpaid and replaceable

It is obvious that tube train drivers are grossly overpaid in comparison to the prior qualifications needed and with other countries. And we all know the only reason they are paid so much is because they keep going on strike and cause severe economic damage.

The time has come to start replacing them with driverless trains. The first line for this should be the Victoria Line. When it was designed in the early 1960s and opened a few years later, it was already fully capable of driverless operation. This is still the case, and the only thing the driver has to do, on their package of probably over £100k pa, is to open and close the doors.

Mark

Unions are arrogant and selfish

I am frankly fed up and disgusted by the arrogance and selfishness of the trade unions in the current dispute. We have accepted their unsustainable and unfair demands for too long for too many years. The truth is that you are grossly overpaid and have been for too long. You get too many perks, generous pension contributions, and much more.

The full-time employment is 40 or 37.5 hours per week. Working less pays pro rata. If your drivers want to work fewer hours, they will be paid less. Simple and clear.

As a taxpayer, I refuse to support people who command high salaries without any special qualifications and work only a fraction of my working hours. You should be ashamed! Do not like your job, then leave and see what a real life is like.

Beatrice

Some of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity.

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