The Briefing
- Couriers protested account-renting practices in Herttoniemi.
- Workers claim “middlemen” take 50% of earnings.
- Protesters demand limits on substitute worker rights.
On New Year’s Day 2026, dozens of Wolt delivery couriers gathered in the Herttoniemi district of Helsinki to protest what they describe as a predatory “account-renting” system.
The eight-hour work stoppage marks a significant escalation in the struggle between gig workers and platform policies that currently allow account holders to subcontract their work to others.
Muhammad Usman, a courier for two years, told the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that the current system allows account owners to exploit workers by charging commissions as high as 50%.
This “black market” often targets vulnerable individuals or the ones without legal work permits, forcing them to work under someone else’s identity while the account holder collects the pay.
Local couriers told Suomi News that the system has become a “brokerage scam” where some account owners have never even met the people performing the actual labor.
Critics claim this practice leads to widespread tax evasion. There are also concerns that account holders may be fraudulently claiming Kela benefits while others do the work in their name.
One courier told Suomi News that some individuals who have left the courier business practically months or even years ago continue to “milk” their accounts by renting them out to newcomers.
The Legal Loophole
Wolt maintains that its couriers are independent partners rather than employees. Under Finnish law, independent contractors have the right to hire “substitutes” to fulfill their tasks.
Protesters argue this legal loophole is being weaponized against the most vulnerable. They are demanding that Wolt and regulators limit the use of substitutes to a maximum of two months per year.
The protest comes at a time of increasing frustration over falling delivery fees and stricter contract terms.
Some workers noted that the work environment has worsened since the American company DoorDash acquired Wolt.
“The pay is no longer as good as it was when it was a local Finnish company,” one courier told Suomi News.
There are currently approximately 20,000 people on the waiting list to become Wolt couriers in Finland. This massive backlog creates a “desperation market” where new arrivals, unable to get their own accounts, feel forced to rent them from others at exploitative rates.
Since the €7 billion acquisition of Wolt by the U.S.-based DoorDash in 2022, the platform has faced global criticism for shifting toward “algorithmic management.” This often results in lower base pay per delivery, forcing couriers to work longer hours to maintain the same standard of living in high-cost cities like Helsinki.
