More than 4,000 people have applied for a single vacancy for a rail safety trainee, as an industrial dispute exposes the levels of pay available in the field.
The vacancy with the Australian Rail Apprentice Network was advertised online and offered between $95,000 and $110,000-a-year.
That eye-watering salary came after the industrial action that plunged Sydney train networks into chaos last week led to revelations of what rail workers get paid.
Disgruntled passengers were stunned to discover train drivers were demanding a reduced 35-hour week while being paid as much as $198,764-a-year.
Now the six-figure salary for a trainee position has also created disbelief, both for the offered salary and the enormous number of applicants.
‘4,000 applicants. Is this normal?’ one wrote.
Others said they had not considered ever applying for the role, but they had changed their mind after seeing that $110,000-a-year was on offer.
‘$95,000 for an entry role which I’m going to assume is going to go up after the traineeship ends? I’m inclined to be candidate 4051,’ one wrote.
More than 4,000 people have applied to become a rail safety trainee amid massive disputes over sharp pay rises in the industry
‘Surprised every grad in NSW hasn’t applied for it,’ another said.
‘That’s a generous wage for what appears to be an entry level role. I’m tempted to apply. My public service job that I have two degrees for pays almost $10,000 less than the bottom rate,’ another wrote.
‘Government position that requires no previous skills or experience and includes all requisite paid training starting at 6 figures. Why wouldn’t it have that many applications?’ another said.
The Fair Work Commission suspended a stack of work bans brought by NSW’s train drivers in a bid for pay rises, but the interim order only scrapped the industrial action until the commission heard the government’s full case on Wednesday.
The orders being sought would have thwart the union’s ability to instigate a new set of work bans and force them into arbitration, where the industrial court could dictate the pay rise workers receive.
The government said the industrial action had done ‘significant damage to an important part of the economy’.
The union, which has been pushing for four annual pay increases of eight per cent, appears unlikely to accept the government’s offer of 15 per cent over four years.
About 75 per cent of NSW’s 13,300 rail workers are union members, mostly with the Rail, Tram and Bus Union.
A vacancy for a rail safety trainee with the Australian Rail Apprentice Network was advertised online and offered between $95,000 and $110,000-a-year
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 workweek – would result in train drivers earning hefty salaries.
According to 2GB, the proposed increases would see annual salaries rise from $157,081, including superannuation, in the first year to $198,764 by 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 claims the base salary sits at $78,388.
Businessman and expelled NSW Liberal executive member Matthew Camezuli said the union were ‘out of control’.
‘They drive trains. They are not pilots. Surely there are an abundance of people who would be willing and able to drive trains for the current salary. Labor and the Unions are out of control.’
Many Aussies agreed on social media.
‘That is what paramedics, nurses and police officer salaries should look like. Not train drivers,’ one person wrote.
‘It is a joke,’ said another.
‘Wow. sign me up. Easier than labouring job and pays 10 times more,’ a third said.
‘It’s time for driverless trains I guess,’ a forth added.
The ongoing pay dispute involving the Electrical Trades Union and the Rail, Tram, and Bus Union saw over 1,900 services cancelled last week.
