Traffic controllers in Australia have revealed the astonishing truth about their salaries, with some earning up to $200,000 a year to “bludge” their way to financial freedom.
According to Jobs and Skills Australia, traffic controllers are employed to ensure the safety of emergency response teams, construction workers, and the general public by directing road and pedestrian traffic around construction, accidents, or road disruptions.
However, real-life traffic controllers say this is just a glossed-up job description.
They claim that, in reality, the role requires little more than a two-day course followed by very easy work.
A “Bludge Job” with Good Pay
A traffic controller from Logan, Brisbane, told Getahead app in a recent TikTok video that he makes about $35 an hour.
“If anyone wants a sort of bludge job where you don’t have to do much, traffic control is definitely the way to go,” he said.
“You literally get paid to stand here. There are definitely worse gigs out there. I’m a real estate agent by trade, so I just do this to pay bills.”
Paid to Be Bored?
Irish expat Ruth Birch said she gets “paid to be bored” while stationed at a quiet footpath where she lets people know they can walk through little barriers.
“All I have to do is let people know that they can walk on this footpath through the little barriers,” Ruth said of the “double pay fake job”.
“It’s supposed to be 35 degrees today, and I am going to be standing there getting a tan.”
High-Risk Job with Good Benefits
A female traffic controller from Brisbane said she earns “between $140,000 to $200,000 a year” due to “really good” penalty rates and loadings, deserved due to the “high risk” nature of the role.
She faces the challenge of the “ignorance of the public’s awareness of traffic control” with another worker in the comments backing this up, saying they’ve even come close to death on the job.
Varying Salaries Across the Industry
The discrepancy in earnings from each worker arises as salaries vary depending on whether the company is a CFMEU or a local one.
The trade union pays some traffic controllers on Victoria’s Big Build project $206,000 a year, based on a six-day, 56-hour work week.
Private company salaries can range from $55,000 to $75,000 annually, with some companies offering hourly rates from $30, according to SEEK.
The union salary of $49 per hour doubles to $98 per hour for 16 hours of double time, excluding a travel allowance of $315, a meal allowance of $186 for overtime, and a site allowance of $280 for mega projects.