“We are super happy to finally be opening Wolt Market here,” said Athanasios Bilalis, General Manager of Wolt Market in the Mediterranean region.

“Ultimately, we hope to help people save time by making weekly grocery shopping easy and quick. We can’t wait to see how the store takes off and how people start using it over time.”

The first Wolt Market store was launched in Helsinki and now operates over 50 stores in 22 countries. 

“We’re looking to make weekly grocery shopping convenient and easy for more people, and we’re thinking about different options currently,” Bilalis said. “We hope to be able to tell people more good news in the near future.”

The food courier industry – mainly dominated by Wolt and Bolt – surged in popularity in Malta during the COVID-19 pandemic and it has remained so following the end of restrictions on restaurants and social gatherings. 

However, the industry has also been criticised over the working conditions of couriers, who are typically employed by recruitment agencies which are then sub-contracted by the food courier platforms. 

A recent investigation by the Department for Industrial and Employment Relations (DIER) found that couriers’ employment contracts were not in line with the law, with statutory bonuses, COLA not always paid, overtime, sick leave and vacation leave not covered, and work on public holidays compensated at the regular rate. 

DIER released new guidelines for couriers, with their ‘work hours’ based on how many deliveries they carry out. One hour is equivalent to 2.2 deliveries, with the standard 173 hours a month therefore equivalent to 380 deliveries. 

Any deliveries beyond that count as overtime. 

Cover photo: Wolt Malta 

Will you use Wolt Market?