‘We’ll Be Back Even Stronger’: Bolt Food Couriers Slowly Return To Work After Strike In Malta
Bolt Food couriers have slowly started returning to work but they’re working on their next steps in their fight for better working conditions and earnings and “come back even stronger”.
“Without doubt yesterday was a massive step forward for us and we received a lot of support from the public and restaurants too,” a spokesperson for the couriers told Lovin Malta.
“There was a massive strain on Bolt Food yesterday with only very few couriers on the road and demand going up without the means to deliver.”
“Yesterday was the first step of many. We will continue working on our next steps and come back even stronger, more united and keep straining Bolt Food’s operation till they accede to our demands.”
An estimated 500 Bolt Food couriers took part in a strike on 29th July over massive decreases in their earnings and other disputes with the food courier company.
As of this morning, around 150 to 200 couriers are believed to be back on the app, while the rest, who are still striking this morning out of solidarity, will be back on the roads this evening.
However, fleet agencies, who act as employers for third-country-nationals who work with Bolt Food and take at least 50% of their pay, have reportedly issued threats and blackmail to the people who went on strike.
Bolt Food has so far issued renewed terms and conditions to the couriers. Still, they do not include any major changes according to the couriers and most notably do not mention any changes to their earnings structure.
Bolt Food told Lovin Malta that it is working towards optimising its pricing to help increase earnings in the wake of the strike called by couriers of the food delivery company. Still, no specific timeline has been given.
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.
What did you think of the strike?
READ NEXT: Watch: 'The Cars Right Behind Us Didn't Make It': Ukrainian Family Who Fled From Mariupol With Baby
