Tube drivers are striking because they cannot afford to buy a house in London on their £72,000 salary, a union leader has claimed.
Eddie Dempsey, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, defended the action as strikes that have brought the capital to a standstill entered a fourth day. The union is demanding a four-day, 32-hour working week.
Asked on Times Radio whether he thought £72,000 was a good wage, Mr Dempsey said: “Well you can't afford to buy a house in London, even on £72,000.”
He added: “I think workers should be able to afford to live in London. And if the average house price – if you've got to be earning more than £100,000 to buy a house in London – £72,000 is not out of this world.”
Mr Dempsey later admitted the salary was a “good wage”, but insisted: “It doesn't mean that we shouldn't be asking for improvements in wages in terms of conditions.”
Average pay in the capital is £65,994, according to 2024 official data, falling to £46,006 across the South East.
The RMT has also faced criticism over reports that it wants members to receive a 75 per cent discount on all mainline train tickets outside London through a Rail Staff Leisure Card – as well as ticket deals for theme parks such as Legoland and Thorpe Park, and guided tours of Buckingham Palace.
RMT lead negotiator Jared Wood dismissed that claim, telling the Standard: “The idea that this is any part of industrial negotiations is complete nonsense.”
Mr Dempsey said members “take no pleasure in disruption” but made “no apology for fighting hard for our members.”
He told Times Radio: “We often get people in the media attacking us for having wages that most people in Britain have lost. So we make no apologies for that. We understand the disruptions are a real pain for people. We take no pleasure in it.”
He also warned that disputes could soon spread beyond the Tube and DLR to cleaners’ pay and conditions, and threatened industrial action on the Elizabeth line over alleged plans to shut ticket offices.
Transport for London insists there are no plans to close ticket offices despite the RMT’s claims.
The Conservatives have accused Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, of a “conspicuous silence” over the Labour-backing union’s strikes. Mr Dempsey urged Mr Khan to intervene, warning that industrial relations on the Underground had “totally collapsed.”
