As London Underground and Transport for London prepare to tell us that they can not afford a decent pay rise for workers, what with the economic crisis 'n'all, let's look at how much they pay their top bosses ...

The figures for the most recent completed financial year (2007/08) revealed that ...

• Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy was paid more than £540,000: a salary of £334,720 plus a bonus of £115,200 and other benefits.
• Tim O'Toole, Managing Director of London Underground, £283,254 and a bonus of £73,115.
• David Brown, Managing Director of Surface Transport, was paid £261,500 plus a bonus of £42,625.
• Two other senior Transport for London bosses were paid between £300,000 and £460,000.
• As well as the top earners, 123 TfL bosses received more than £100,000. [Evening Standard website]

Hendy's predecessor, Bob Kiley, coined it in big time in his final stretch in office, 1 April 2005 - 31 January 2006, as follows: Salary £265,090; Bonus for 2004/05 £270,000; Bonus 2005/06 £237,500; Compensation for loss of office £745,000; Termination bonuses £181,250. And that's not including his very nice house, private health insurance and professional tax advice. [TfL website]

So how does Transport for London justify this?

A TfL spokesman said: "TfL has to attract and retain the best transport experts in the world. That requires paying the global rate for the job." [Evening Standard website]

The company also states that: "The policy of TfL is to recruit and retain the highest calibre Chief Officers and to provide remuneration packages that reflect their responsibilities, experience and performance. The Remuneration Committee has established a reward structure commensurate with this policy and comparable talent markets." [TfL website]

So how about remuneration packages for us that reflect our responsibilities, experience and performance? Or, better still, that reflect our need to pay our bills and have a decent quality of life?