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(Picture: PA Archive)Tube drivers’ are earning almost £15,000 more than they were ten years ago, The Standard can reveal.
Drivers received a pay rise every year from 2011 to 2021 which amounted to a 34 per cent increase, a freedom of information request shows.
According to the figures, Tube drivers were paid £42,022 in 2011, which then rose by £14,638 to £56,660 in 2021. This year the average salary is £57,290.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown the average salary for full-time workers across the UK have gone up by around 16.6 per cent.
In 2011, average earnings stood at £32,691 before rising to £38,131 in 2021.
The revelations about staff pay come after a 4.8 per cent TfL fare increase introduced earlier this month.
The deal means Tube drivers could receive almost £5,000 a year more than their current salary.
The final year of the four-year deal for about 15,000 station staff and drivers awards them the RPI rate of inflation, which the ONS reported at 8.2 per cent as of February, plus 0.2 percentage points.
The rise is likely to cost Transport for London £100m - at a time it remains reliant on Government bailouts to keep services running.
The rise is likely to infuriate some Londoners after members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) staged a mass walk out earlier this month.
The two-day protest caused a complete shutdown across Tube services causing havoc for two days.
It follows walkouts throughout December last year and strikes on Friday and Saturday nights as drivers protest at having to work some Night Tube shifts.
TfL’s long-term financing remains unclear and is operating under a fourth short-term funding package until June 24, although a deal with the Department for Transport is expected to be reached by the end of this month.
A TfL spokesperson said: “Pay for train drivers is consistent with other rail operators across the UK.
“London Underground pay agreements have historically been negotiated for all London Underground staff in multi-year deals.
“This has helped to foster constructive relations with the unions, while ensuring the network is safe and reliable, particularly during the pandemic where TfL operated a full service throughout to help those who needed to travel.
“The last two pay agreements have been four-year deals, linked to the Retail Price Index.”
