September 2, 2025 | 02:05 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Transport Workers Union (SPAI) confirmed that the online motorcycle taxi (ojol) drivers who met with Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka last Sunday are not union members. SPAI chairperson Lily Pujiati admitted to knowing two—those wearing yellow Maxim jackets.
“I know the Maxim drivers are legitimate, but I don't recognize the others," said Lily when contacted by Tempo on Tuesday, September 2, 2025.
Despite recognizing the two drivers, Lily stressed that they are not members of SPAI, and past communication between them was limited to transportation worker issues.
"They are not members of SPAI. If they were, they would have had membership cards. And, second, we always coordinate before taking actions, both regional and central," said Lily.
The government, said Lily, often invites ojol drivers affiliated with the ride-share platforms and not through labor unions. Therefore, she questioned whether the drivers meeting VP Gibran truly represented ojol drivers' aspirations.
“If they are trained by the apps, they ought to present the companies' aspirations, not us (workers)," she said.
Lily said she called one of the Maxim drivers she knew to ask what they discussed with Gibran. According to her, they proposed for drivers to be equipped by Social Security (BPJS) for Employees.
“I called him yesterday (to ask) what they discussed. ‘Yes, it was related to BPJS.’ Maxim requested free BPJS for Employees for ojol drivers, among other things,” she said.
VP Gibran Gathers Representatives of Ojol Drivers at Palace
Gibran summoned a number of ride-share driver representatives to the Vice Presidential Palace on Sunday, August 31, 2025.
The drivers were seen wearing jackets commonly associated with Gojek, Grab, Maxim, and InDrive.
“Alhamdulillah, during the meeting, we were the ones who asked questions and gave input to the Vice President, and Alhamdulillah, we were on the same page regarding the current issues,” said one of the drivers wearing a Gojek jacket, as quoted from the Instagram account @setwapres.ri.
The meeting has recently sparked doubts among the public. These doubts range from the condition of the drivers' jackets, which appeared to be new, to the choice of words and tone used by the drivers, as well as the fact that some of the drivers were wearing expensive branded shoes.
Some of the phrases used by the drivers that caught the public's attention were when they mentioned the impact of the demonstrations on their work. “In recent days, we, the online motorcycle taxi drivers, have been disrupted in our livelihoods. The number of passengers has decreased, and we feel anxious when driving, because the escalation is increasing,” said one driver wearing a Gojek jacket in a short video uploaded to Instagram @setwapres.ri.
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