Employment Minister Byron Camilleri announced in parliament on Tuesday that companies accused of exploiting food couriers will be barred from hiring additional workers until investigations into these claims are completed.
In the meantime, workers who have raised these allegations and feel uncomfortable with their current employers will receive assistance in finding alternative employment, Camilleri stated.
Camilleri's comments followed a meeting earlier on Tuesday involving JobsPlus, the Department for Industrial and Employment Relations, and several food couriers participating in recent strikes. Approximately 60 workers attended the closed-door meeting, ensuring they could speak freely without media presence.
Camilleri explained that food couriers, often third-country nationals, are employed by fleet operating companies with service supply agreements with delivery platforms like Bolt Food and Wolt. These platforms pay fleet operators for courier services, who then pay the couriers. Despite guaranteed income on paper, couriers claim they only receive a portion of the delivery rates.
The strikes, involving hundreds of food couriers, were prompted by Bolt's reduction of weekend delivery rates, which significantly impacted their income. Couriers report working 18-hour days to earn as little as €3 an hour, below the national minimum wage.
Camilleri expressed support for the strike and warned employment agencies against firing striking workers.
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