Inside the eye-watering pay of Aussie lollipop workers: Union rates, long hours, and divided opinions

7NEWS

6 days ago

Australian traffic controllers have revealed their eyewatering salaries for holding a stop sign, with some raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
There are more than 16,000 lollipop workers employed across the country, and some workers have reported annual pay of up to $200,000 a year — nearly double the average annual salary for full-time workers.
The role involves the direction of road and pedestrian traffic to ensure the safety of emergency response teams, construction workers and the general public.
Sky News reported that the high wages are being earned by trade union workers part of Victoria's Big Build project, who pull in about $206,000.
But the job is far from standard, with employees working 56 hours over a six-day week.
Private company salaries appear to be much lower, starting at $55,000, with an hourly rate of about $30.
The union rate is $49 per hour, and doubles to $98 per hour for 16 hours of double time.
A Facebook group called Traffic Controller Australia sees many workers call out the high pay perception as far from the truth for non-union workers.
One user said, 'I don't even make half of that, and that's with working away a lot'.
Others have said they are treated badly by the public.
One Facebook user wrote, 'there is no power being a traffic controller' and that 'most of the population think we are pests and do nothing'.
In a TikTok interview, one worker said they are 'not allowed to sit down' and that workers have to learn to occupy themselves.
Workers seem to disagree on how difficult the job really is.
Some lollipop workers have come forward, saying the work is easy and they get paid to just stand there.
Ruth Birch, a TikTok user, told her followers she would 'rather be paid to be bored than to be stressed'.
She encouraged other women to get their traffic control ticket so they could do the same work.
But others highlighted the danger of the work, even saying they have risked their lives while on the job.
Many say they experience an increased risk of physical harm, especially when called to crash sites.
One Reddit user said the work is 'definitely not hard' but is 'very dangerous'.