On the 28t hof July the Times of Malta and other local media portals reported that Bolt food couriers were going to strike “over issues with earnings and their working conditions.”[1]
Two days later TOM gave an update saying that several Bolt food couriers opened up about “the shocking working conditions” which they likened to “slavery”[2]because they are only paid €2.10 per delivery with only managing to make around 10 deliveries per day while working 11-hour long days.
Firstly while I am totally against low wages and the precariat I would like to ask if these workers knew about the working conditions before they were accepted. If they knew and they accepted and signed a contract then it is useless whining about it. On the other hand if they were tricked into it it is something else.
On the other hand they said that they get paid €2.10 per delivery. Let’s say they make 3 deliveries in an hour; this already amounts to €6.30 an hour. Now this still does not equate with a good hourly rate but we must keep in mind that there are many other workers some of whom are Maltese who are being paid at €5 an hour or less in other sectors with the blessing of the employer and the government!
Thirdly if those who order a take-out keep on ordering and using such drivers then they are complicit in this abuse of power. It is very clear that this trend of Bolt and other couriers has taken up speed during Covid-19’s imposed lockdowns. This has turned into a comfortable commodity for many who kept on ordering take-outs even when lockdowns were lifted because we have come to want everything at our doorstep. We cannot feel angry about what these food couriers were complaining about and then we fuel the context ourselves. If we want to bring a change we must act.
The below comments show a different scenario from what Bolt drivers and TOM portrayed:
In conclusion I would like to tell all those who felt enraged about all this to start truly understanding that they are also part of this modern slavery but they do not know. We are all modern slaves. How?
We are slaves when we have to get and pay a loan for most of our lives to just own a simple living space.
We are slaves when we must give away half [if not more] of our monthly income to the bank in order to pay for a property until we almost die.
We are slaves when we get comfortable and accepting of the eat-work-sleep rotating and robotic cycle and rejoice with that annual holiday.
We are slaves because we were made to believe that studying hard getting a decent job and working hard will get us to places and reward us with a decent life. Instead we get to face a peanut salary while learning that only a few can climb the social ladder because of the “friends of friends”.
We are slaves because we are losing more than half of our income to taxes and inflation which are being stolen by an unaccountable unelected entity that monitors our every move has the power to imprison us at any time and tries to force experimental medical procedures on us.
We are slaves because the banks ensure we stay in debt; the pharmaceutical companies ensure we get and stay sick; the media ensures we are prevented from knowing the truth and the governments ensure all of this is done legally.
We have turned ourselves into self-proclaimed slaves when we became accepting of everything.
We have turned ourselves into self-proclaimed slaves the minute the majority allowed the government to impose restrictions on our lives during Covid-19 denying freedom to the rest who objected.
We have turned ourselves into self-proclaimed slaves the minute we accepted to take the Covid-19 vaccine in order to be able to fly dine and work.
And since “slavery and freedom cannot exist together”[Ernestine Rose] if we want to taste true freedom then we must diligently come together to stop this catastrophe.
[1]https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/bold-food-couriers-strike-friday-sunday.971153
[2]https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/2-per-delivery-it-s-slavery.971471