Issues at Bolt Food and other couriers are well known and have been under the spotlight since 2021 following revelations that hundreds of third-country nationals are being employed by fleets that take at least half of their income.

Meanwhile, Bolt Food has routinely slashed fees paid to couriers by reducing their peak-time bonuses by an average of more than 50%.

One courier told Lovin Malta how he earns just “around €40-€50 in hand, following a 12 to 15 hour work day, as around 50% has to go towards [their] agencies”.

According to the figures, it appears that most third-country national Bolt workers earn between €2.66 and €3.33 an hour on a good day. The minimum wage in Malta is €4.57.

Earlier this year, the food courier, taxi and e-scooter company Bolt announced it parted ways with local company TXF Tech. 

Bolt has since started to operate in Malta independently with the aim of strengthening its position as a market leader in Malta and “make the market more competitive and introduce its global procedures and processes on the island”.

However, it appears that the same problems have continued with drivers regularly raising concerns over the earnings they generate with the company, which reportedly continue to be slashed. 

Some have reported having lost between 30 and 50% of their salary as a result of the manner in which they were engaged to work.

The government has long pledged to address the issues surrounding platform workers. However, nothing has ever materialised in Malta with the EU now looking into the issue.

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