The employment paradox still looms large at the heart of our digital economy. Millions of online transportation workers (motorcycle taxis) online) are still trapped in a maze of status uncertainty. In business terminology, they are labeled "partners," promised unlimited autonomy and flexibility. However, in operational reality, they are bound by strict subordination, like "laborers," working under the control of an algorithmic dictatorship.
The Illusion of Partnership and Structural Vulnerability
This uncertainty about protection is not a one-sided assumption, but rather an empirical fact. The findings of the report Fairwork Indonesia (2025), a global research initiative on platform economy work standards, has clearly proven that the working conditions and welfare of platform workers in Indonesia still fail to meet decent work standards (decent work).
In the current system, app service providers often use the "partnership" status as a legal instrument to externalize operational risks and escape basic employment obligations. This creates a massive power asymmetry. What is claimed to be an equal relationship between entities (partners) actually turns into exploitation, with platforms retaining absolute control over pricing, order allocation, and unilateral sanctions.
Urgency to Pass the Draft Presidential Regulation
In the context of this deep-rooted legal gap, the ratification of the Draft Presidential Regulation on the Protection of Online Transportation Workers is an urgent necessity. This draft regulation is expected to systematically offer a comprehensive protection framework, encompassing the following fundamental elements:
FirstDistributive Justice and Income Transparency. Inequality in profit sharing is at the heart of the decline in workers' welfare. The demands of the Ojol community and unions regarding platform fees, for example, require limiting company rights to a maximum of 10% and establishing absolute rights for workers of at least 90% of the transaction value. Other demands also call for a clear and transparent fee structure and a strict prohibition on platforms from charging workers promotional fees (customer subsidies). This regulation is an absolute intervention to end the real wage deficit for workers.
Secondly,, Operational Risk Mitigation. Operating in public spaces puts workers at risk of system failure and moral hazard Consumers. Cases of fictitious orders, mismatches in the tonnage of goods with the type of vehicle service, and unilateral order cancellations are recurring financial losses. This Presidential Regulation guarantees compensation for workers resulting from these incidents, ensuring that the costs of transaction failures are not borne by the most financially vulnerable parties.
Third, Legal Certainty and Dispute Resolution. The practice of unilaterally terminating access (suspends or breaking up a partnership) without room for clarification is a violation of the principle due process of lawThe draft Presidential Regulation must include obligations to fulfill the right to legal protection and assistance in dispute resolution. Platforms are also required to provide an easily accessible complaints mechanism with a maximum response time of 3 x 24 hours from the time a complaint is received. This mechanism is crucial for transforming "algorithmic courts" into accountable procedures.
FourthOccupational Safety and Security. As the frontline of citizen mobility, workers are highly vulnerable to physical, verbal, and sexual harassment on the streets. Regulatory guarantees explicitly require a multi-layered system for preventing and addressing all forms of violence against workers.
Fifth, Holistic Social Safety Net. Until now, unclear status has blocked workers' access to state-sponsored social protection schemes. The draft Presidential Regulation is expected to break this deadlock by mandating social insurance, encompassing Health Insurance, Work Accident Insurance (JKK), Death Insurance (JKM), Old Age Insurance (JHT), and Pension Insurance (JP). Highly mobile workers at risk of fatal road accidents should no longer be left to pay medical expenses out of pocket.
The latest survey conducted by The PRAKARSA and PSDK UGM (2026) surveyed 597 online motorcycle taxi drivers in Jakarta and Yogyakarta, recording that 76,21% of respondents had formal social security, while 23,79% were completely unprotected. Of those with coverage, health insurance dominated (84,52%), which generally came from independent schemes or government subsidies.
However, the data shows a significant discrepancy with actual occupational risks; occupational accident insurance coverage reached only 24,09% of respondents, followed by low levels of old-age security coverage (6,67%) and life insurance coverage (3,23%). This empirical evidence highlights a structural gap, where high insurance coverage rates do not yet represent comprehensive protection against daily traffic accident risks or a long-term economic safety net for platform workers.
SixthRecognition of the Right to Organize. Structural power balance can only be achieved through collective negotiations. Guaranteeing the protection of the right to organize allows workers to build legitimate, state-recognized organizations with bargaining power.bargaining power) which is rational when formulating tariff policies and work systems with application providers.
Leaving the draft Presidential Regulation on the Protection of Online Transportation Workers hanging on the bureaucracy's desk is tantamount to allowing structural impoverishment to hide behind digital technological innovation. May Day 2026, the country's paradigm should not only be centered on white-collar workers or conventional manufacturing.
Online transportation workers are the lifeblood of smooth logistics and the urban circular economy. Public policy must be evidence-based (evidence-based) that the current narrative of "partnership" is insufficient to guarantee a decent living. The state must immediately ratify the Presidential Decree to transform their fate: from entities that appear to be "partners on paper but laborers on the street," to individual workers who are free, empowered, and legally protected.
This article has appeared on Katadata.co.id
Author: Ari Wibowo – Pierre Bernando Ballo
Editor: Aria W. Yudhistira