Rail worker salaries are much higher than the median in the UK, but when you take out the train and tram drivers the picture is much less clear
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The decision by the RMT union to go ahead with strike action on three days this week has proved a controversial one, with some suggesting railway workers seem to be relatively well paid when compared to the UK average. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps suggested as much in the Commons and has defended his government’s handling of the situation thus far.
While Shapps was correct in his assessment that the median salary for railway workers of around £44,000 is well above the UK average (£25,971), this former figure includes train and tram drivers who earn significantly more (£59,189) than many those who work in the sector. When they’re taken out of the equation, which is crucial as most are represented by a separate union and not involved in this week’s action, the median figure falls to around £33,000.
While this is still well above the UK average for 2021, it is much closer to the median salary of nurses (£31,093) that the minister was using to make a point about the strike. So what do other key sectors such as bus drivers, teachers and NHS staff earn in the UK?
Read more: Rail strikes: What Bristol trains are still running?
According to the latest ONS data for professions in 2021, teachers in various levels of facilities earn the following median wages:
Teaching and educational professionals = £36,935
Higher education and teaching professionals = £46,161
Further education and teaching professionals = £33,630
Secondary education teaching professionals = £39,419
Primary and nursery education teaching professionals = £35,186
Special needs education teaching professionals = £30,733
Senior professionals of education establishments = £58,268
Education advisors and school inspectors = £36,531
Teaching and other education professionals = £21,851
For NHS staff, the ONS compiled the following data of median salaries for 2021:
Health professionals = £33,216
Medical practitioners = £56,869
Psychologists = £36,261
Pharmacists = £38,000
Ophthalmic opticians = £34,870
Podiatrists = £31,637
Therapy professionals = £31,365
Physiotherapists = £33,040
Occupational therapists = £28,984
Speech and language therapists = £28,158
Nursing and midwifery professionals = £30,882
Nurses = £31,093
According to the latest data from the ONS, the media salary for bus drivers in the UK was as followed:
Bus and coach drivers = £23,854
