Staff on the Docklands Light Railway have “raised the bar” by securing the biggest Olympic bonus yet for working during the London 2012 Games.
Employer Serco Docklands has agreed to pay an attendance bonus of £900 plus extra cash for overtime, which the RMT said was worth up to £2,500 for employees across all grades working throughout the event.
More than 500 workers will be paid the £900 attendance bonus at £100 per week over the nine-week period, while staff who work overtime will get ‘time and three quarters’.
Under the deal, staff will be guaranteed a minimum of five hours of overtime a week, or 45 hours during the event.
The driverless train service is a vital part of the Olympics transport network transporting visitors to the various venues including Stratford and Greenwich.
This deal is the latest in a string of generous transport staff incentives to discourage unplanned absence. It tops the £1,800 that London Underground drivers can expect to earn during the event, which was agreed last year.
In addition to encouraging attendance, staff will also be expected to be more flexible in their shift patterns and be willing to work overtime when required.
Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, said: "This is a truly groundbreaking deal, raising the bar in the industry and putting £2500 in our members pockets as a reward for the extra workload and pressure they will carry throughout the Olympic and Paralympic period.”
David Stretch, Serco Docklands managing director, said: "I'm pleased we have been able to discuss and agree a fair deal with the RMT.
"It means we can finalise working arrangements for all our employees who will help deliver our enhanced services this summer and welcome an extra 2.28 million passengers on to the DLR network".
Last year, bus and tube drivers and Network Rail workers all secured a £500 one-off bonus for working during the Olympic period through union negotiations.
The 3,500 drivers at London Underground can potentially earn £1,800 because they also negotiated increased pay rates for overtime.
More recently London Overground signed up to the £500 bonus for staff working the entire Games period, with additional ‘time and a quarter’ for completing a shift.
The employer will also use ‘volunteers’ from its back office functions to boost frontline staff numbers.
However, negotiations over bonuses for non-driver staff working for LU during the Games are ongoing.
The RMT rejected the latest bonus offer of £100 plus £15 extra per shift as “derisory” and are calling for a better deal to recognise the extra workload.
The elusive no-strike deal that Olympic organisers will have hoped to secure has not been an explicit part of any deal.