A courier working for Wolt in Gävle earned 350 kronor for working from 5 PM to midnight on a Friday, a case that has drawn attention to earnings in the gig economy. Pontus Blüme, an investigator for the Transport Workers' Union, has studied the gig industry where people get short-term assignments instead of employment. Blüme sees companies like Invoicery Business as an employer shield for Wolt, so Wolt can avoid being an employer, a view that underscores tensions in labor practices.
Stephen Schad is the CEO of Invoicery Business, the company through which many food couriers are employed. Schad is optimistic about the future of this type of gig economy via digital platforms and believes it will expand, but he regrets the lack of collective agreements and wishes platform workers would organize. According to SVT Gävleborg, Schad described that the employer responsibility does not become less, but it falls to Invoicery Business, so he does not understand the criticism.
Stephen Schad says he is interested in collective agreements, but he is uninterested in offering the conditions that a collective agreement actually entails.
However, he does not see the Transport Workers' Union as a potential party in an agreement, with SVT Gävleborg reporting that Schad described transport as against all flexible work. According to SVT Gävleborg, Pontus Blüme described that Schad says he is interested in collective agreements, but he is uninterested in offering the conditions that a collective agreement actually entails. Wolt has given its view on the compensation level in SVT's previous publication about the upset food couriers in Gävle, though the specific compensation level it provided remains unclear.
The exact working conditions and benefits offered to couriers through Invoicery Business are not detailed, and it is unknown how many couriers are employed through the intermediary for Wolt in Gävle. Actions to address low earnings and lack of collective agreements are uncertain, and compliance of the gig economy model with Swedish labor laws and regulations is not specified in available reports.