Malta Public Transport offers jobless Bolt couriers a new career as bus drivers

Self-employed couriers left jobless by a change in policy at Bolt are being offered a chance to become full-time bus drivers instead.

Malta Public Transport said on Saturday that it would be happy to train and employ couriers looking for a career change “following recent developments.” 

Those “developments” refer to a sudden decision by courier company Bolt to get rid of all its self-employed couriers and instead refocus all its workforce on couriers employed through recruitment agencies. 

Self-employed drivers working with Bolt were sent an email this week informing them that their jobs would be terminated in 30 days’ time. The change mostly impacts Maltese and EU nationals who worked as couriers for the company. 

The Estonian-based Bolt provided no explanation for the decision, saying only that it was due to “business reasons”.

The EU is currently negotiating a new EU-wide law that would require companies like Bolt to treat contract workers like employees, guaranteeing them fair salaries and working conditions. Malta is also in the advanced stages of introducing its own law along similar lines. 

Self-employed couriers told Times of Malta that Bolt’s announcement came out of...