A salary of £ 72,000 earned by some striking tube workers is not enough to buy a house in London, a railway union boss claimed.
Rail, Marine and Transport (RMT) Union General Secretary ED Dampi was quizzed on the salary of London underground workers Between one week strikeDue to which Severe disruption in the capital.
On Wednesday, when asked on Times Radio whether he felt £ 72,000 meant that a worker was not paid well, Mr. Dempsi replied: “Well, you can’t take the risk of buying a house in London, even at £ 72,000.”
RMT members are participating in walk-out In dispute More salary and hours – with several tube lines out of service, or much affected by industrial action.
According to London (TFL) for transport, average tube driver Is a initial salary £ 71,160, while the station employee starts at £ 35,270, increases to £ 44,140 within a few months.
The salary of RMT members, which are demanding less than four-day work week, have added frustration faced by some people in the city, which have been disrupted by the strike.
City is the economy To get afflicted According to research by London -based Center for Economics and Business Research (CBR), a direct hit of at least £ 230m.
Mr. Dempsi was many times radio if workers were already paid well at £ 72,000.
He said that it was a “good salary”, however, he said that it was not enough to buy a house in London, where the average price in June was £ 561,000, According For the National Statistics Office.
Mr. Dempsi said: “I think workers should be able to live in London. And if you have earned more than £ 100,000 to buy a house in London, £ 72,000 is not out of this world.”
He said: “We do not apologize for our members to work hard, and that’s why our members have got a good situation. And we often attack people in the media for wages that most people in Britain have lost. So we do not apologize for it.
“We understand that the disruption is a real pain for people. We do not enjoy it. But the only way to solve it is through a conversation disposal.”
On Wednesday, Mr. Dempsi said that there was a “collapse” in industrial relations, which he warned that more industrial action could be taken. “We want progress towards recognition about the effect of the work of the shift,” he said.
Downing Street has called RMT and Transport for London (TFL) to return to the conversation table to end the strike.
The official spokesperson of the Prime Minister said: “We want to see RMT and TFL back around the table, when it comes to these attacks, works together in good faith to solve this situation in the interests of the passengers.”
TFL has offered a 3.4 per cent increment to the workers, which has been rejected, while Nick Dent, director of the customer operations of London, said Nick Dent said the union’s demand for the cut in a 35-hour week was “bus ineffective” and would cost hundreds of crore pounds.