London 2012: Dockland Light Railway staff get Olympic bonus pay deal

About 550 staff would get a 25% rise in the standard overtime pay during the Games

Docklands Light Railway (DLR) staff could earn up to an extra £2,500 for working during the Olympic Games.

Serco Docklands, which operates the driver-less train service, agreed to a 25% rise in the standard overtime rate for about 550 of its employees.

The deal guarantees that staff working over the nine weeks would get a minimum of five hours overtime per week and a bonus payment of £100 per week.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said the deal has "raised the bar".

The RMT has already agreed Olympics payments of £500 for Network Rail staff and £600 for London Overground workers.

Earlier this month the union rejected an offer of a £100 bonus for Tube workers as "derisory".

'Truly groundbreaking deal'

The DLR will serve four Games venues - the Olympic Park, ExCeL London, the Royal Artillery Barracks and the equestrian events at Greenwich.

The service expects a 57% rise in passengers during the events and will run additional trains, clocking up 45,000 additional hours to run the enhanced service, and will staff 25 stations instead of the usual four.

Serco Docklands said an employee who worked a minimum five hours overtime a week would look towards earning £1,132 above their usual pay.

David Stretch, managing director of Serco Docklands, 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".

RMT's general secretary Bob Crow said: "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 Paralympics period."