The incident came at a time of wider debates over platform work, foreign labor, and regulations, with the controversy including the low prices taxi drivers say they are now able to charge, the place of the Estonian language, and the status of those who use Bolt to earn a living.

During a Wednesday evening Riigikogu session, opposition MP Lea Danilson-Järg (Isamaa) brought a large green Bolt Food delivery bag into the main hall, placing it on the chair next to Minister of the Interior Igor Taro (Eesti 200), who was at the time answering questions on foreign labor and amendments to the Employment Contracts Act.

This prompted Deputy Speaker Toomas Kivimägi (Reform) to halt the proceedings to issue a reprimand, calling the item "inappropriate" for the debating chamber, discrediting the institution, and violating agreements prohibiting bulky items such placards or sports equipment from being brought into the chamber. Kivimägi's calls for the Bolt bag to be removed fell on deaf ears, and he was forced to call two separate five-minute recesses in an attempt to resolve the situation.

The parliamentary disruption came as lawmakers were finalizing legislation directly affecting platform companies such as Bolt. President Alar Karis this week gave his assent to a bill amending the Employment Contracts Act, which passed Wednesday's Riigikogu vote and which will affect Bolt and Wolt platform workers too. Karis had refused to promulgate that law last month, on a technicality. Now it has passed, part-time employees will be able work additional hours up to full time according to set conditions, and employers will not be able to cut costs by converting previously full-time jobs into ones with flexible working arrangements.

The bill has also drawn criticism from organized labor, as well as from opposition MPs. Postimees reports the Estonian Trade Union Confederation opposes a section in the bill which would lower the wage requirement for foreign workers on residents' permits to 80 percent of the national average, saying to do so would favor cheaper foreign labor, depress wages, and increase social dumping, all at a time of an unemployment rate of (in Q1 2025), while the union also opposes removing an approval requirement with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (Töötukassa) that ensures a search for local candidates.

At the same time, tensions have also been visible among platform workers themselves. The bill and the Riigikogu incident also came at a time of controversy surrounding Bolt and other platform apps. Bolt taxi drivers in the Ida-Viru County towns of Jõhvi and Kohtla-Järve went out on a "phantom strike" which while the app still seemed to be functioning as normal, meant no drivers were taking orders. The protesters say new software from Bolt means, since the end of last year, fares have been fixed, and at among the lowest rates nationwide, they say – before that the drivers been able to set their own tariffs, within a certain range. Postimees reported similar strikes in Tartu and on Saaremaa.

Bolt denied the drivers' actions in Ida-Viru County had negatively affected the service's functioning in the region, and a spokesperson said higher tariffs would mean lower income for the drivers, as they would attract fewer customers.

Beyond Estonia, regulatory pressure on platform companies is also increasing at the European level. An EU directive due to be transposed into domestic law has implications for how its service providers are viewed under the law. The directive's framers say it aims to ensure platform workers are employed under contracts reflecting their actual work, requiring platforms like Bolt to use employment contracts where appropriate to guarantee legal protections such as social tax payments and at least the minimum wage. Bolt initially opposed the adoption of the directive.

Domestically, a bill back in government would shift social tax duties from individuals ordering services — such as cleaning, repairs, or childcare — to the service providers themselves, clarifies how tax applies to services via platforms like Bolt or Wolt, and could boost revenue by €1.3 million annually if more providers use entrepreneur accounts.

While new rules in Lithuania require foreign workers in the service sector to be able to speak very basic (A1 level in the Common European Framework) Lithuanian, no equivalent plans are in place in Estonia to install a similar requirement with the Estonian language.

Bolt has been operating in the ride-hailing business in Estonia since 2013 when it was set up, originally called Taxify. It has since grown to enter the markets of dozens of countries worldwide, and diversified into the car rental, e-scooter hire and couriering sectors.

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