Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1519042
7 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 APRIL 2024 but dismal wages The company, as do most fleet operators, offers its services to ride-hailing platforms, name- ly Bolt, eCabs, and Uber. A high-ranking industry source told MaltaToday that the size of WT Global's fleet is large enough to influence the ride-hailing industry, and that it enjoys low commission rates and higher priority on certain platforms. Cab industry questions success of 'non-compliant operators' WT Global's aggressive expan- sion within the ride-hailing sector is not lost on other operators who question how the company regis- ters such rapid growth year after year in an industry where opera- tors are going out of business. In an interview with this newspa- per in September 2023, the Light Passenger Operators Association (LPOA) President, Aaron Gatt explained that operators were see- ing their profit margins dive by as much as 45% from the previous year while working more hours. WT Global's gross margin re- mained very steady throughout the years, although its operating and profit-before-tax margins experi- enced a 27% dip year-on-year in 2022. Last March, LPOA issued an- other statement on the significant challenges faced by law-abiding operators. Here, the lobby group stated that the "rapid growth of large operators raises questions about their compliance with trans- port regulations," as it called on au- thorities to investigate non-com- pliant operators. LPOA had asserted that the "un- checked expansion of non-compli- ant operators has led to oversupply in the market, harming law-abid- ing drivers and the industry. It's imperative to hold accountable those responsible for flouting reg- ulations and consequently, damag- ing the market dynamics." In 2022, the government sought to regulate platform work in gener- al by forcing employers to provide workers with a contract of employ- ment, a detailed payslip, statutory bonuses, and overtime rates paid by the hour. Platforms making use of recruitment agencies to secure a supply of workers must make sure that the agency provides all infor- mation necessary so that all salaries can be paid out accurately. Questions unanswered MaltaToday reached out to WT Global on Tuesday 9 April with a set of questions to understand the company's financial accounts, par- ticularly its large profits and low wage numbers. However, the com- pany did not reply by the time of publication. The questions sent to WT Global can be found below: • WT Global's 2022 accounts show an exponential growth in revenue in just four years, all while keeping cost of sales incredibly low. Could you explain, within the parameters of commercial confi- dentiality, what has caused this im- pressive growth, and how the sales costs have remained so low? • According to the same finan- cial accounts, WT Global pays an average wage of €3,681.95 per year. This number was calculated as the amount of salaries, wages and allowances divided by the aver- age number of persons employed. Could you shed some light on how this is possible? • MaltaToday has seen a payslip belonging to one of the company's employees. The employee makes almost minimum wage, but then earns almost double his/her fixed wage in non-taxable allowances. Could you explain this set-up? • The same payslip contains a hefty fuel reimbursement, between €700-800, for a two-week period. Is this amount of fuel reasonable for a cab driver? • On 13th February 2024 you were issued a notice by the Com- missioner for Tax and Customs. Could you explain the nature of this notice? • How many cars and motorcy- cles does WT Global have in its fleet today? Walid Ouhida frequently uploaded posts and pcitures showcasing his extravagant lifestyle