Rail workers’ £1,000 bonus for ditching paper payslips

HUNDREDS of London rail workers have been handed bonuses of about £1,000 each for agreeing to ditch paper payslips.

German state-owned Arriva Rail London, which runs overground services across the capital, handed staff a 1.5 per cent bonus on top of a 5 per cent wage increase as part of a deal struck with the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers union (RMT) earlier this week.

The company employs about 1,500 people, of which about 400 are believed to be RMT members.

Unlike other train operators, Arriva Rail London is funding the pay deal out of its own profits instead of the burden falling on taxpayers.

Annual staff costs were £107million, according to the operator’s most recent financial report. With 1,546 employees, average pay is £69,000 – although this includes administration, operations and maintenance staff. On this basis, a 1.5 per cent bonus would equate to £1,042.

The agreement with the RMT relates to 2022 and will be backdated. A spokesman for the company said that the RMT represented about 400 employees in customer service, traincare and revenue protection.

Arriva Rail London, branded London Overground, runs services in the capital and the Home Counties. Unlike negotiations with national rail operators, it is understood that the deal with the RMT does not require any changes to working practices – many of which have been singled out for holding back the development of better rail services.

Arriva, which also runs the CrossCountry, Chiltern and Grand Central lines, is owned by Deutsche Bahn – the state-owned operator of rail services in Germany.

Last week the RMT called off national rail strikes planned for Thursday and Saturday this week.

After an industrial dispute lasting for almost a year, the union said it was “working constructively towards a settlement” with train operators.