The new competition in the platform delivery service was eagerly awaited, and since the beginning of May, we've been seeing blue Wolt riders driving through Vienna with cubic backpacks. We have already followed the protests and strikes in our neighboring countries and noticed that - whether green or blue - we will probably be annoyed. The only question was how long it would be before Riders also protest with us. It didn't take long.
But one thing at a time. Who is Wolt? What does this company offer for riders? Why are riders protesting and striking in all countries?
Wolt comes from Finland, is as old as Foodora when founded in 2014, has gained a foothold over the years in Scandinavia, the Baltic States and Eastern Europe, and Germany and is now active in 25 countries worldwide. Since 2022, it has been owned by the American company Doordash. This is considered to be very financially strong and successful, but is also not profitable - like none of the platform companies. But that is not the point at all. Wherever Wolt enters, it is taking the market by storm. Whether they will be able to do that in Austria remains to be seen; so far, new competitors have not stayed here for long. UberEATS, which only employed independent riders, left Austria in 2018 after just one year. It was the same for Jokr or Flink, where the riders were employed. It is therefore probably not due to employment conditions when companies migrate again, but perhaps because the market is saturated.
But Wolt obviously doesn't just want to compete with Mjam and Lieferando, but also Amazon. Not only food and groceries, but also goods of all types should be delivered gradually. In doing so, Wolt wants to “grow sustainably” and “assume responsibility.”
The wool in sheep's clothing?
What are the working conditions at Wolt now that the riders in Vienna are already showing up in front of Wolt headquarters after barely 2 weeks to express their displeasure?
Like every new platform company that enters the Austrian market, Wolt also attracts riders with above-average pay: riders are promised at least 13.50 €/hour. However, Wolt is not known in any country for hiring riders or paying above-average hourly wages over the long term. Payment for the individual rider is more likely to expire in unpredictable amounts per order, and you can log in whenever you want. The reward for an order depends on the distance, the size of the order, the location of the restaurant, the time of day and the weather. This also depends indirectly on the number of available riders, or even on the order situation, because the weather and the time of day, or the day of the week, of course have an influence on how many orders there are and how many riders agree to work.
Other options for prices to vary include Uber and UberEats, for example, where individual orders could suddenly become more lucrative if you don't accept every order that comes along.
The employment relationship at Wolt is either self-employed with a business license or a freelance employment contract. Jackets and backpacks therefore say “Wolt Partner” - because you work with Wolt and not for Wolt. Like all platform operators, Wolt sees itself primarily as a tech company and not as a delivery service. As with most platforms, however, there are relatively precise instructions, often disguised as “tips”, on how to behave as a partner. It is a very unbalanced partnership.
So your partner Wolt sets the rules that you can't sit at home or on the edge of the delivery area, but must be where the highest concentration of restaurants is. You must be 100% available regardless of weather conditions if you've booked a shift. You must wear the uniform. You must also always have an external battery with you and accept every order within the warranty period, i.e. until the last minute of your shift. If you don't accept at least 85% of your assignments, this can have consequences: There are penalties in 5 different levels, from written warnings to permanent exclusion from booking shifts. This all actually sounds more like a normal service contract, where a works council would first have to approve such disciplinary measures, and not a free service contract, where such unilateral obligations are not provided for and the individual riders also have little negotiating power against them.
Is that really what you want? #ReWolt!
But it was not (only) because of these rules that around 30-40 riders protested in front of Wolt headquarters in Vienna. Although the company had announced that it would reduce the shifts offered, it also immediately deleted the riders' already planned shifts. The income for working hours, which the riders had agreed with Wolt through shift planning, is now lost to them. Affected riders with a free employment contract could, however, contact the Chamber of Labour as to whether They do not still have to be remunerated for these layers.
The Wolt riders, who have been seen riding city bikes since the beginning of May, often ride with empty backpacks because there are still too few orders. They are instructed that they should not sit around but should be on the move. This makes sense from a business perspective, of course, but such instructions do not fit in with the self-employment model.
It is understandable that the promised above-average hourly fee for 200 riders, who have barely anything to deliver, is proving expensive after a short period of time, but after market entries in 25 countries, this sudden change of heart cannot be excused as a rookie mistake.
However, you can also simply log in to Wolt, i.e. work without a planned shift, get paid per order and also reject orders. This puts Riders in competition with each other. There are also protests in such models: Since the introduction of “dynamic pricing,” colleagues in Denmark, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Serbia, Greece and Georgia have been demonstrating against opaque payment and procurement, falling mileage, and the associated decline in income. There is also a demand for collective agreements in many countries.
It is also not set in stone that self-employment is justified with the ability to work when you want and select assignments. The Danish tax authority wants to classify Wolt Rider as an employee.
Overall, the platform acts like any other: It makes decisions and the “partners” have no say in them, but have to work with them. When “self-employed” service providers in different countries around the world organize themselves to stand up against the provisions of their platform, this suggests questioning the actual employment relationship.
It remains exciting to see how things will develop.
