Malta: towards the adoption of a minimum wage for platform-based workers

On 10 October, Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela announced to the representative of the UĦM Voice of the Workers trade union body that a minimum wage reform for platform-based workers could be expected to be introduced with the country’s 2023 budget. This reform should allow the legal minimum wage to be applied to drivers and delivery drivers who are working as self-employed on digital platforms. As such they will then be able to be paid at least €4.57 per hour, or €792 per month for full-time work. This decision comes after a strike by Bolt delivery workers in July, who were complaining about a drastic reduction in their peak hour bonuses (by almost 50%). Malta’s Labour government is also expected to regulate the employment contract and to implement the right to sick pay and overtime pay. In this way the small Mediterranean archipelago appears to be anticipating the vote and the transposition of the European directive. Presented in December 2021 (c.f. article No.12820), the text introduces a presumption of salaried status under certain conditions (supervision and monitoring, the fixing of remuneration, and the lack of autonomy in the choice of task undertaken). In this way Malta is also joining Spain and Portugal, the only European countries to have introduced a comprehensive protection for platform workers in the law (c.f. article No.12869). The government is expected to specify the details of the rules in the coming days.