EAST London commuters are to be hit by a 24 hour strike by workers on the Docklands Light Railway.

About 250 DLR workers will walk out on the job on Monday, July 3, over a dispute with management about pay and job cuts.

The industrial action will cause severe delays on the line, which is the main transport system for workers in the east London business district, Canary Wharf.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said its members had voted to strike against "dangerous and penny-pinching" plans by Serco Docklands, which owns and operates the DLR.

"That is not just bad news for our members, but bad news for everybody who uses the DLR," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said.

"It is scandalous that a rail franchisee should even try to reduce properly trained staff in an industry that needs more and better safety and security."

Serco Docklands said it was putting contingency plans in place to minimise disruption during the strike.

Serco Docklands managing director Tony Thomas said he was "astonished" the union had rejected its latest proposal.

"We have been talking proactively with the RMT and have offered staff a new proposal which allows us to increase staff on stations," he said.

"The new proposal means there is no loss of pay, no downgrading and no redundancies for existing station staff and absolutely no compromise to safety. The only change for existing staff is an increase in the time on trains and a decrease in the time on stations."

However, Mr Crow said the company was "misleading" the public.

"They know they will have fewer people with the skills and experience to deal with an emergency," he said.

"The company's supposed compromise would put current station staff on trains for 70 per cent of their time, even when they are supposed to be supervising new, inexperienced and less-well-trained people on stations.

"That is dangerous nonsense and our members have made it clear that it is unacceptable."

There is no World Cup fixture on the day of the strike.