London Underground settles Olympics’ pay dispute

London Underground (LU) has settled a pay dispute, which will see some staff receive up to £850 as a bonus payment during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The settlement, the unions the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (Aslef), the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and Unite, have signed the deal.

It covers the period from 27 July until the end of the Paralympics on 9 September.

It means that maintenance, stations and service control staff and operational managers will be eligible for an attendance allowance of £20 per shift during the weeks of the Olympics and Paralympics, which could add up to £400.

These employees will also receive a one-off payment of £350 in recognition of their agreement to work more flexibly for the fixed period.

Staff will also be eligible for a £100 customer service satisfaction bonus if scores are met during that time, or in the weeks preceding the games for maintenance staff.

Howard Collins, chief operating officer at London Underground, said: “I am pleased that we have now got agreement from all four unions on our proposals for how we can fairly reward staff over the London 2012 games.

“I know our staff are keen to play their part in the games and, now that we have agreement across the board, we can all look forward to focusing on supporting a fantastic summer of sport and cultural events in London.”

Bob Crow, general secretary at RMT, said: “After months of hard work by our negotiators we have been able to come to an agreement that both protects the contractual rights and existing agreements of our members and rewards them in recognition of what we all know will be the biggest transport challenge ever faced by this city.”