Ministers told of 1,200 workers in ‘illegal’ food delivery and taxi jobs

Over 1,200 third-country nationals working for taxi and food delivering services could be employed on illegal work contacts in breach of Malta's employment laws, government ministers have been told.

A Cabinet meeting this week was told that Malta’s employment agencies will be brought in to ensure contracts by food delivery platforms ad taxi operators be assessed or such firms could be subjected to fines, The Times reported.

Earlier in the month, ministers were given a presentation on third-country nationals working as drivers and couriers in Malta as reported by MaltaToday.

The presentation found that more than 1,200 third-country nationals were working as food couriers or taxi drivers illegally. 

In January, MaltaToday found that a number of recruitment companies supplying migrant workers to food delivery platforms are in breach of Malta’s employment laws.

A senior government source told this paper of well-founded suspicions of precarious employment, that has driven down food supply wages and delivery costs for platform companies such as Wolt and Bolt, with almost all workers, are working up to 80 hours to earn just 50% of the expected monthly salary: €1,500 or even less.

Migrant workers zipping around the island on their scooters are over-worked, underpaid, lacking ordinary workers’ rights, denied overtime, and treated liked self-employed contractors in breach of Maltese laws.

According to Malta's employment laws, third-country nationals need to be employed on a full-time contract. However, many drivers and couriers working for platforms such as Bolt and Wolt are categorised and self-employed or part-time.

READ MORE: Good money and new slaves? Gig workers take all the risk in COVID-19 boom for food delivery