October 22, 2025 | 01:11 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Transportation Workers Union (SPAI) has called on President Prabowo Subianto to immediately issue a Presidential Regulation on the Protection of Online Transportation Workers.
The appeal came after Prabowo, during a cabinet meeting on Monday, October 20, 2025, expressed his intention to ensure that online transportation companies operate within a fair and healthy business environment.
SPAI Chairperson Lily Pujiati welcomed Prabowo’s statement, saying it aligned with workers’ aspirations for better welfare across ride-hailing platforms such as ojol (online motorcycle taxis), taksol (online taxis), and delivery couriers.
“To realize this commitment and ensure the welfare of workers, we urge the President to issue a Presidential Regulation on the protection of online transport workers,” Lily said in a written statement received by Tempo on Tuesday, October 21, 2025.
Lily emphasized that the regulation should cover key labor rights, including employment status, fair wages equivalent to the minimum wage, humane eight-hour workdays, weekly rest days, holiday bonuses, and social security.
She added that it should also guarantee maternity rights, the right to unionize, collective bargaining, and protection from arbitrary suspension or termination.
According to Lily, such a regulation is urgently needed because online platforms continue to compete by exploiting their drivers.
“Exploitation takes many forms, from high commission cuts reaching 70 percent, low fare schemes, and double orders, to priority slot systems and minimum fare restrictions,” she said.
These practices, Lily explained, create unhealthy competition and severely reduce drivers’ incomes, often leaving them with earnings below the minimum wage. On average, ojol drivers only make between Rp50,000 and Rp100,000 per day, she said.
“Drivers are even forced to work 12 to 18 hours a day, seven days a week, without adequate rest. This leads to extreme fatigue and a higher risk of accidents,” Lily added.
She argued that the root of the problem lies in the so-called “partnership” system employed by all platforms, which allows them to bypass labor laws and operate without clear worker protections. “Each platform sets its own rules to maximize profits while minimizing operational costs, often at the expense of drivers’ rights,” she said.
Earlier, President Prabowo said the government continues to hold talks with online motorcycle taxi companies to reach a fair compromise for drivers. Without naming specific brands, he mentioned that two major companies dominate the market.
“The number of online motorcycle taxi drivers across these two companies has reached four million, including two million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). So, six million people depend on this sector for their livelihoods,” Prabowo said.
Eka Yudha contributed to the writing of this article.
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