From volunteers on the beach to train drivers on $200,000 a year getting paid DOUBLE time and a half: Meet the Australians who'll be working on Christmas Day
- More than 4,300 volunteer life savers are set to patrol beaches this Christmas
- Train drivers in some states will be paid double time and a half or $67 an hour
- Queensland Rail operators already earn average salaries of $130,000 a year
- They will be getting more an hour than Christmas duty ambulance paramedics
Swimming at the beach and enjoying a seafood lunch are the hallmarks of an Australian Christmas - but not everyone gets a break from work to enjoy them.
Going for a swim without drowning and getting to the family reunion in one piece are taken for granted by many during the festive season, except for the thousands of people on duty who make it happen.
This Christmas, more than 4,000 surf life guards will be patrolling beaches across Australia as $200,000-a-year train drivers in some states clock on for double-time-and-a-half penalty rates, earning more an hour than some ambulance officers.
Swimming at the beach and enjoying a seafood lunch are the hallmarks of an Australian summer Christmas - but not everyone gets a break from the daily grind to enjoy them (pictured are women at Sydney's Bondi Beach)
More than 4,300 volunteer lifesavers will be duty at beaches across Australia this Christmas as thousands flock to the coast to soak up the sun
With temperatures set to peak at a hot 29 degrees from Sydney to the Gold Coast, a red and yellow beach patrol army is standing by to help swimmers caught in a rip.
Last year, 4,370 volunteers stood by the flags on the sand, and Surf Life Saving Australia is expecting a similar number to be on duty this Christmas.
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That number is on top of the paid lifeguards funded by coastal councils.
Trains and buses will continue to run to a weekend timetable on Christmas Day, with drivers paid generous penalty rates that vary depending on what state they are in.
With temperatures set to peak at 27 degrees from Sydney to the Gold Coast on Christmas Day, a red and yellow beach patrol army will be standing by to protect swimmers
Last year, 4,370 volunteers stood watch, and Surf Life Saving Australia is expecting a similar number to be on duty this Christmas
Queensland Rail train drivers are already well remunerated, earning a median full-time salary of $130,000 a year - a pay level which is a whopping 59 per cent above Australia's average full-time salary of $82,435.
After generous overtime, the top-paid network drivers in Brisbane earn between $182,000 and $193,000 a year.
Under the Fair Work Commission's Rail Industry Award, the average grade-five train driver will be paid $66.93 an hour - or double-time-and-a-half - on Christmas Day.
Not every state is as generous, with Sydney train drivers getting at least time-and-a-half but no more than double time under a different enterprise agreement.
Drivers on Melbourne's Metro Trains network receive time-and-a-half with a day in lieu or double-time-and-a-half on request for working on December 25.
Queensland Rail train drivers (pictured) are already well remunerated, earning a median full-time salary of $130,000 a year
Ambulance paramedics (pictured in Sydney) earn less per hour on public holidays than Queensland train drivers, with third-year officers getting $65.33 an hour
Ambulance paramedics earn less per hour for working on public holidays than Queensland train drivers, with third-year officers getting $65.33 an hour, or double-time-and-a-half.
Some of Australia's lowest-paid workers who find themselves rostered on this Christmas will also earn double-time, with the lowest-paid permanent retail workers getting $46.78 an hour under a new industry award.
Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus said penalty rates weren't generous enough.
'Penalty rates must be restored,' she told a gala dinner in Melbourne in October.
'There was a time when our system was the world leader and Australians had the highest living standards in the world. But no more.
'Our current system is out of balance. It is seriously out of balance.'
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