Serco Docklands staff to be awarded Olympic bonus

Serco Docklands employees, working on the Dockland Light Railway (DLR), will get a bonus deal worth £2,500 for working during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The deal is made up of a guaranteed attendance payment of £900, paid at £100 per week over a nine-week period for all staff in every grade. It also includes a 25% increase in the standard overtime rate and guaranteed overtime payments for all staff.

It applies to 550 employees covered by the collective agreement of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT). The package is required to ensure that all staff agree to help meet 45,000 additional hours required to run the enhanced service, recognising that they will be required to work in different locations, longer hours, on amended rosters, and with restricted annual leave.

The DLR is one of the most affected transport providers of the Olympic Games because it serves four of the principal Olympic and Paralympic venues, including the Olympic Park, Excel London, the Royal Artillery Barracks and the equestrian events in Greenwich.

David Stretch, managing director at Serco Docklands, said: “I am 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 onto the DLR network.”

Bob Crow, general secretary at RMT, added: “This is a truly groundbreaking deal, raising the bar in the industry and putting £2,500 in our members' pockets as a reward for the extra workload and pressure they will carry throughout the Olympic and Paralympic period.”