Ojol Demonstration At Harkitnas, Member Of Commission IX Of The House Of Representatives Alludes To The Importance Of 'Revival' For Digital Platform Workers

JAKARTA - Coinciding with the commemoration of National Awakening Day (Harkitnas), online motorcycle taxi drivers (ojol) held a massive demonstration in a number of areas with the main demand for a cut in app rates of no more than 10 percent.

Member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives, Nurhadi, assessed that it is time for the state to attend and side with digital platform workers.

Nurhadi said the demonstration led by the Indonesian Transport Workers Union (SPAI) described a different form of revival. Namely the rise of digital platform workers who have been oppressed behind the term mitra'.

"Online motorcycle taxi drivers, online taxis, and logistics couriers not only fight against heat and rain, but they also fight against digital systems that strip them of their basic rights as workers," said Nurhadi, Tuesday, May 20.

Nurhadi also highlighted the statement by SPAI Chair Lily Pujiati, who said that ojol drivers can now only bring home Rp50,000 to Rp100,000 per day. This number is far below the regional minimum wage, especially if it is reduced in operating costs such as gasoline, vehicle maintenance, and motorcycle installments.

Meanwhile, platform companies cut up to 70 percent of service costs.

In one case, the driver only received IDR 5,200 from a tariff of IDR 18,000 for food delivery, far exceeding the maximum 20 percent cut limit set by the government in the Decree of the Minister of Transportation No. KP 667 of 2022.

According to Nurhadi, the gap between hard work in the field and income received by ojol drivers is a real portrait of structural inequality in Indonesia's digital economy.

"With the status of 'mitras', platform companies have managed to avoid the obligation to pay fixed salaries, health benefits, pension insurance, leave, and other employment protections. This is a form of new exploitation packaged with technology," he said.

In fact, said Nurhadi, the Supreme Court in several of its decisions has indicated that employment can still be recognized even in partnership schemes if they meet elements of wages, work, and orders.

"Unfortunately, without strong regulations, the bargaining position of the drivers remains fragile," said Nurhadi.

Related to this, Nurhadi assessed that the DPR has a constitutional responsibility to answer legal and social problems due to digital disruption.

"What is the use of the Job Creation Omnibus Law which is said to be pro-invest, if thousands of digital workers do not have income certainty, let alone protection?" he said.

Nurhadi, who is assigned to the DPR's Manpower Commission, thinks that a new legal umbrella is needed in the form of the Digital Workers Protection Act which explicitly regulates the standard of decent work.

This regulation can also regulate the transparency of platform algorithms, reasonable commission restrictions, social security obligations for drivers, to encourage evaluation of exploitative partnerships.

"Is this 'mitra' status purely a business relationship or practice of evading company obligations? This must be audited by the state," explained Nurhadi.

The demonstration today is estimated to be attended by 25 thousand ojol drivers from various corners of the city on the island of Java and parts of Sumatra who have entered the Jakarta area in stages. In various other areas outside Jakarta, ojol drivers also held demonstrations.

The ojol crowd brought a number of demands. Starting from strict sanctions to application companies that violate regulations, demanding that a maximum cut in applications be only 10 percent, to asking for revisions to passenger rates and the elimination of programs such as aceng, slots, saves, and priorities that are considered detrimental to drivers.

These online transportation partners also demand that food service rates and goods delivery be set fairly by involving driver associations, regulators, applicators, and the Indonesian Consumer Institution Foundation (YLKI).

In line with the demands of the ojol, Nurhadi also assessed that the government through the relevant ministries must take firm action against rogue applicators who apply very large tariff cuts.

According to him, the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Manpower need to be given political pressure so that they are no longer compromise against companies that violate tariffs, manipulate bonus systems, and ignore the basic protection of workers.

"The demonstration of online motorcycle taxi drivers is not only about money, but also dignity. They are a real face of the digital economy which has been alluded to as the future," said Nurhadi.

Nurhadi said National Awakening Day which is celebrated every May 20 should be a momentum for the DPR to revive the healthy climate of informal workers such as this ojol driver.

"What is certain is that the DPR through related commissions does not remain silent. So far, we at Commission IX continue to work to ensure that ojol partners are recognized as workers so that they are entitled to basic labor protection," he said.