Striking tube workers ‘can’t afford houses in London’ on current salaries

LocalBusiness & Finance
10 Sep 2025 • 11:43 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

image is not available

  • A week-long Tube strike in London, led by the RMT union, has caused significant disruption across the capital due to a dispute over pay and working hours.
  • RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey stated that a £72,000 salary, earned by some striking Tube workers, is insufficient to purchase a house in London, where the average price is £561,000.
  • Transport for London (TfL) reports that the average Tube driver's starting salary is £71,160, while station staff begin on £35,270, increasing to £44,140.
  • The Centre for Economics and Business Research estimates the strike will cost London's economy at least £230 million.
  • Downing Street has urged the RMT and TfL to return to negotiations, while TfL's offer of a 3.4 per cent pay rise has been rejected, and the union's demand for a four-day working week deemed unaffordable.

IN FULL