Frustrated commuters have expressed outrage over train driver pay estimates reported by a Sydney radio station following a strike that disrupted the city’s rail network this week.
Sydney rail services faced widespread cancellations and delays on Wednesday and Thursday due to an ongoing pay dispute involving the Electrical Trades Union and the Railway, Tram and Bus Union. The interruption caused the cancellation of more than 1,900 services.
The Fair Work Commission has suspended a series of work bans brought by NSW train drivers in a bid to win pay rises, bBut the interim order only eliminates the strike until the commission hears the government’s full case on Wednesday.
The requested orders would thwart the union’s ability to instigate a new set of work bans and force them to resort to arbitration, where the labor court could dictate the pay rise workers receive.
The government said the strike had caused “significant damage to a significant part of the economy”, adding that it would present evidence of that effect at next week’s hearing.
The union, which has been pushing for four annual pay rises of eight per cent, appears unlikely to accept the government’s offer of 15 per cent over four years.
About 75 per cent of New South Wales’ 13,300 railway workers are members of unions, mostly the Railway, Tram and Bus Union.
Radio station 2GB sparked further debate by suggesting that the unions’ demands – a 32 per cent pay rise over four years and a reduction to a 35-hour work week – would result in machinists earning high wages.
The estimates shared on the 2GB Facebook page have irritated rail workers as they argue they are not asking for that much.

The strike has left commuters in the lurch as only limited services are available
According to 2GB, the proposed increases would see annual salaries rise from $157,081, including superannuation, in the first year to $198,764 in the fourth year.
Transport for NSW reports that the average salary for a Sydney Trains driver is $128,196, which includes overtime and allowances.
But the RTBU states that the base salary is $78,388.
Businessman and NSW Liberal executive member Matthew Camezuli said the union was “out of control”.
‘They drive trains. They are not pilots. There are surely many people who would be willing and able to drive trains at today’s salary. Labor and the unions are out of control.
Many Australians agreed on social media.
‘This is what the salaries of paramedics, nurses and police officers should be like. No to the train drivers,” one person wrote.
“It’s a joke,” said another.
‘Wow. sign me up It’s an easier job than a manual job and pays ten times more,” said a third.
“I think it’s time for driverless trains,” added a fourth.