Wolt food delivery couriers took strike action from 20-26 March 2026, demanding higher pay rates.
The strike was organised informally by riders in the cities of Limassol and Nicosia, with 500 riders believed to have participated in the action.
The riders say that a minimum per order of €1.10 is not enough to survive.
Wolt riders are hired via intermediary companies, which take 35% of the driver earnings on average, further reducing their pay. One of the striking riders, Mohammed, said the intermediaries, known as ‘fleets’, have sham agreements with riders.
“Wolt say that we have agreements with the fleet companies, but the fleet companies do not accomplish a lot of what is in these agreements,” Mohammed said. “For example, it says in my agreement that the fleet company will pay me €60 for my fuel expenses, but I don’t receive anything, and the cost of fuel is more like €200. The agreement also says that we have a salary rate from the fleet company, but in reality we are only paid based on the money we earn from Wolt.”
During the strike, the riders reportedly faced police violence and threats to take away their right-to-work in the country. Almost all of the riders are foreign students.
Around 50 riders are believed to have their accounts de-activated by Wolt for participating in the strike, a claim Wolt has denied.
The Finnish-based food delivery company also provided bonuses for riders to encourage them to break the strike.
I”t is very simple: you can build your empire, but not like this; paying less and less,” Mohammed said. “Because as a rider, we have to feel happy when we are working for the company, and we are not happy. This is modern-day slavery.”