Government’s half-baked Legal Notice failed to ban parasitic recruitment agencies

Moviment Graffitti thoroughly condemns the termination of the contracts of dozens of self-employed couriers working for the app-based company Bolt, who will lose their jobs by the beginning of 2023.

The decision to dismiss dozens of self-employed drivers occurred in the wake of the government’s change in legislation in October. Although Bolt and the government themselves have not drawn any direct link between the change in legislation and the termination of dozens of self-employed contracts, it is evident that Bolt took the easy way out.

On 21 October, the government officially published legislation which was enacted mainly “to ensure that persons engaged to provide paid services consisting of the delivery of any consumer product, gain access to labour and social protection rights by ensuring the correct determination of their employment status”.

Rather than acknowledging its self-employed workers as employees, which is what the government’s legislation is meant to achieve, Bolt instead decided to force self-employed couriers to either work for exploitative recruitment agencies or otherwise end up jobless.

By failing to ban exploitative recruitment agencies from the sector, which are known to carry out practices like siphoning off half the drivers’ pay per delivery and withholding leave entitlement, as well as extracting heavy fees which leave drivers indebted, the government has allowed a loophole that is being exploited by Bolt to push out couriers who do not wish to work for agencies.

It is shameful that the company did not even bother to answer the media’s questions about what “business reasons” led to a decision which directly affects the financial situation of workers who depend on the income they make, especially at a time of the year when people are looking to recover what they’ve spent during the holidays.

While the founders of the company will continue lobbying to water down European legislation meant to curb their unsustainable business practices throughout 2023, their self-employed drivers in Malta will suffer the direct results of their ‘disruptive’ growth model which fails to recognise drivers as employees.

Bolt’s decision to solely source drivers from parasitic recruitment agencies who extract unjust fees from third-country nationals lured into working for them clearly shows where the company’s priorities lie.

We once again express our grave concerns about the government’s lax attitude towards the extensively reported breaches of human and workers’ rights committed by Bolt and the recruitment agencies which enable them, breaches which were bad enough to lead to a strike coordinated by hundreds of couriers back in July.

It is shameful that a company’s business model is allowed to take priority over the lives of individuals seeking fair compensation for the work that they do.

If the government still considers gig economy workers to be a priority, then it should directly prohibit couriers’ recruitment agencies, that have been allowed to work with impunity for years, from operating in the sector.

Għexieren ta’ couriers li jaħdmu għal rashom mkeċċija mill-kumpanija Bolt għas-sena l-ġdida

 L-Avviż Legali nofs leħja tal-Gvern ma pprojbixxix l-aġenziji ta’ reklutaġġ parassiti

Il-Moviment Graffitti jikkundanna bis-sħiħ it-terminazzjoni tal-kuntratti ta’ għexieren ta’ couriers li li jaħdmu għal rashom mal-kumpanija Bolt, li hi bbażata fuq mobile app, u li se jitilfu l-impjieg tagħhom mill-bidu tal-2023.

Id-deċiżjoni li jitkeċċew għexieren ta’ xufiera li jaħdmu għal rashom saret fid-dawl tal-bidla li għamel fil-leġiżlazzjoni l-Gvern f’Ottubru. Għalkemm il-kumpanija Bolt u l-Gvern infushom m’għamlux rabta diretta bejn il-bidla fil-leġiżlazzjoni u t-terminazzjoni ta’ għexieren ta’ persuni li jaħdmu għal rashom, huwa evidenti li l-kumpanija Bolt malajr sabet mod kif tfarfar fil-kuntest ta’ din il-liġi l-ġdida.

Fil-21 ta’ Ottubru, il-Gvern uffiċjalment ippubblika leġiżlazzjoni li primarjament ġiet promulgata “sabiex tiżgura li l-persuni ingaġġati biex jipprovdu servizzi mħallsa billi jwasslu kwalunkwe prodott għand il-konsumatur, jiksbu aċċess għad-drittijiet tax-xogħol u tal-protezzjoni soċjali billi taċċerta d-determinazzjoni korretta tal-status ta’ impjieg tagħhom”.

Minflok tirrikonoxxi lill-ħaddiema li jaħdmu għal rashom bħala impjegati, li hu dak li l-leġiżlazzjoni tal-Gvern suppost tikseb, il-kumpanija Bolt iddeċiediet li ġġiegħel il-couriers li jaħdmu għal rashom jaħdmu ma’ aġenziji ta’ reklutaġġ esplojattivi jew inkella jispiċċaw bla xogħol.

Billi naqas milli jipprojbixxi l-aġenziji ta’ reklutaġġ esplojattivi mis-settur, aġenziji magħrufa għal prattiċi bħat-teħid inġust ta’ nofs il-paga tax-xufiera għal kull delivery, in-nuqqas tad-dritt għal leave, kif ukoll it-teħid ta’ miżati kbar li jħallu x-xufiera bid-dejn, il-Gvern ħalla lakuna li qed tiġi sfruttata mill-kumpanija Bolt sabiex teħles mill-couriers li ma jixtiqux jaħdmu għall-aġenziji.

Huwa tal-mistħija li l-kumpanija lanqas biss indenjat ruħha twieġeb il-mistoqsijiet tal-midja dwar liema “raġunijiet marbuta man-negozju” wasslu għal deċiżjoni li taffettwa b’mod dirett is-sitwazzjoni finanzjarja tal-ħaddiema li jiddependu fuq id-dħul li jagħmlu, speċjalment fi żmien tas-sena meta wieħed ikun qed ifittex jirkupra dak li jkun nefaq matul il-vaganzi.

Filwaqt li l-fundaturi tal-kumpanija se jkomplu jagħmlu l-lobbying biex inaqqsu l-leġiżlazzjoni Ewropea maħsuba biex trażżan il-prattiki kummerċjali insostenibbli tagħhom matul l-2023, ix-xufiera tagħhom li jaħdmu għal rashom f’Malta se jbatu r-riżultati diretti tal-mudell ta’ tkabbir ‘problematiku’ tagħhom li jonqos milli jagħraf ix-xufiera bħala impjegati.

Id-deċiżjoni tal-kumpanija Bolt li ġġib biss xufiera minn aġenziji ta’ reklutaġġ parassiti li jitolbu ħlasijiet inġusti miċ-ċittadini ta’ pajjiżi terzi li jaħdmu għalihom, juri biċ-ċar il-prijoritajiet tal-kumpanija x’inhuma.

Għal darb’oħra nesprimu t-tħassib serju tagħna dwar l-attitudni laxka tal-Gvern lejn il-ksur tad-drittijiet tal-bniedem u tal-ħaddiema mill-kumpanija Bolt u l-kumpaniji ta’ reklutaġġ li jippermettuhom, ksur rappurtat b’mod estensiv u li kien gravi biżżejjed biex f’Lulju li għadda jsir strike ikkordinat minn mijiet ta’ couriers.

Huwa tal-mistħija li l-mudell ta’ negozju ta’ kumpanija jiġi mogħti aktar prijorità mill-ħajja tal-individwi li qed ifittxu kumpens ġust għax-xogħol li jagħmlu.

Jekk il-Gvern għadu jikkunsidra l-ħaddiema tal-gig economy bħala prijorità, mela għandu jipprojbixxi b’mod dirett il-kumpaniji ta’ reklutaġġ tal-couriers, li ilhom jaħdmu b’impunità għal snin twal, milli joperaw fis-settur.