Rail strike reality check: Train staff halt work again while driver colleagues earn up to £73k per year
Rail passengers are suffering fresh travel chaos today as 40,000 rail workers are striking, with RMT union members at Network Rail and 14 other train companies walking out over pay and job terms.
Disputes in the bitter row over jobs, pay, pensions and conditions are worsening, with more strikes in the coming days, and a wave of industrial action planned next month on the railways and London Underground.
Only around one in five trains will run today, on around half the network, with some areas having no trains all day.
A group that is not striking today is the train drivers. To find out the differences in pay at different rail companies, Morning Wire looks at how much the average train driver currently makes. It should be noted that drivers are not striking today.
Based on Glassdoor salary data, the average base pay for a train driver in the UK is £54,001.
This increases to £63,410 for GWR, £70,020 for CrossCountry, and £73,819 for LNER.
Working conditions
Studying – largely anonymous – employee reviews of each company on Glassdoor, where current and former employees share pros, cons, give advice to management and rate their company out of 5, the average train company rating is 3.7.
Current ratings and sample employee reviews include:
- GWR rated 3.8 – “Incompetent management and unoscial shifts” – Train Driver, London
- Crosscountry 4.0 – “Disorganised at times, slow to action things” – Train Driver, Birmingham
- LNER 4.2 – “Poor management, unsociable hours and draining work” – Train Driver, London
“A mixture of high vacancies, staff shortages and resulting burnout paired with pay disputes means that multiple industries are facing strike action this summer,” said Lauren Thomas, Glassdoor’s UK economist, this morning.
Discussing the salaries and reviews with Morning Wire, Thomas said: “as the cost of living continues to climb and inflation reduces real wages workers are demanding more from their employers. This is particularly true for public sector employees whose pay has lagged compared to the private sector.”
She added: “The labour market is historically tight, meaning job seekers and employees have more power than ever.”