Ojol Demands THR, Wamenaker Noel: It's Fair And Rational

JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Manpower (Wamenaker) Immanuel Ebenezer Gerungan assessed that the demands of taxi drivers and online motorcycle taxis (ojol) related to the granting of religious holiday allowance rights (THR) are reasonable and rational.

"The demands of ojol friends, in our opinion, are natural, logical, and rational," said Wamenaker Noel as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, February 17.

The provision of religious THR for application-based service workers was previously one of the discussions between the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower and the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation, Friday, January 24, 2025.

At that time, the Indonesian Minister of Manpower (Menaker) Yassierli said that the protection for workers on application-based services was part of the Astacita of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto.

According to Noel, ojol drivers are workers who are entitled to decent wages and welfare, as regulated in Law (UU) Number 13 of 2003 concerning Manpower.

"Pun kalau kita mengarakan negara-negara Eropa, kawan-kawan driver ini adalah pekerja. Mengaku pada International Labor Organization (ILO), posisi driver juga sebagai pekerja. Maka dari itu, harus mendapat THR, tidak bisa tidak tidak, tegas dia.

Furthermore, Noel said that his party had held discussions with applicators regarding the granting of this religious THR right, regardless of whether it was given the name bonus, assistance, and so on.

"Yesterday we said about the THR, it's still a technical matter, whether it's in the form of bonuses, holiday bonuses, etc. And the desire (in the form of bonuses) is in the form of money, the value is more pronounced for ojol friends," said Noel.

"I have discussed with the applicator. They have prepared it, but it's just technical. Hopefully, they can give the best for the driver," he added.

Regarding whether there are sanctions for applicators who do not fulfill these obligations, Noel said that his party was also considering this matter.

"Certainly yes (there are sanctions). The state forces (to give THR from the applicator to ojol) about the sanctions, later it will be discussed with our legal bureau," he said.

In addition, Wamenaker Noel also supports other demands from ojol drivers such as the right to maternity leave, to guarantees for job protection, especially for female drivers.

"It's all natural and regulated by law. When they ask for logical demands, the state must be present and supportive," said Noel.