Platform Work and Social Protection: Reassessing the Legal Status of Online Motorcycle Drivers in Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65815/2hkqam61Keywords:
platform work, social protection, online motorcycle drivers, labor law, economic justiceAbstract
The rapid expansion of platform-based transport has transformed employment relationships in Indonesia while challenging conventional distinctions between employees, independent contractors, and business partners. Online motorcycle drivers frequently operate under partnership arrangements that may limit access to statutory labor protections despite their economic dependence on digital platforms. This study reassesses the legal status of online motorcycle drivers from the perspective of social protection and economic justice. Employing a doctrinal legal research approach complemented by secondary empirical evidence, the study examines Indonesian labor regulations, partnership arrangements, platform terms and conditions, and relevant judicial and policy developments. The analysis focuses on whether the existing legal framework adequately addresses income insecurity, occupational risks, working-time dependence, social security coverage, and bargaining asymmetries between drivers and platforms. The study argues that formal classification as partners may obscure substantive characteristics of platform work that resemble dependent employment. Consequently, legal protection should be evaluated not solely through contractual terminology but through the actual distribution of economic power and risk. The study contributes to the emerging literature on platform labor by proposing a social-protection-oriented approach to legal classification. It also highlights the need for regulatory frameworks capable of reconciling technological innovation, platform flexibility, and minimum standards of economic security.
Downloads
References
Aloisi, Antonio. 2016. "Commoditized Workers: Case Study Research on Labor Law Issues Arising from On-Demand Work Platforms." Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal 37 (3): 653–690.
Atiyah, Patrick S. 1979. The Rise and Fall of Freedom of Contract. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Azzahra, Fatima, and Antonius Wijaya. 2022. "Precarity in the Digital Economy: Algorithmic Control and Social Insecurity Among Indonesian Gig Workers." Journal of Indonesian Legal Studies 7 (2): 311–348.
Countouris, Nicola, and Valerio De Stefano. 2021. New Technologies and the Labour Market: In Search of a Human-Centred Approach to AI and Platform Work. Geneva: International Labour Organization.
De Stefano, Valerio. 2016. "The Rise of the 'Just-in-Time Workforce': On-Demand Work, Crowdwork, and Labor Protection in the Gig-Economy." Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal 37 (3): 471–504.
Drahokoupil, Jan, and Agnieszka Piasna. 2017. "Work in the Platform Economy: Beyond Lower Labour Costs." Intereconomics 52 (6): 335–342.
Ford, Michele, and Michael Wardke. 2020. "Organizing Platform Drivers in Urban Indonesia: Resistance, Representation, and the State." Development and Change 51 (3): 822–844.
Ford, Michele, and Vivian Honan. 2019. "The Gig Economy in Indonesia: Making the Best of App-Based Transport Work." Journal of Contemporary Asia 49 (4): 640–663.
GoTo Group. 2022. Sustainability and Driver Partner Social Impact Report 2022. Jakarta: PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk.
Grab Indonesia. 2021. Empowering Independent Partners: Annual Social and Economic Impact Assessment. Jakarta: PT Grab Teknologi Indonesia.
Hießl, Christina. 2022. "Case Law on Platform Work and the Re-Classification of Service Providers: An International Perspective." International Labour Review 161 (2): 215–241.
Indonesian Constitutional Court. 2018. Decision No. 41/PUU-XVI/2018 on the Judicial Review of Law No. 22 of 2009 on Road Traffic and Transportation. Jakarta: Mahkamah Konstitusi Republik Indonesia.
International Labour Organization (ILO). 2021. World Employment and Social Outlook 2021: The Role of Digital Labour Platforms in Transforming the World of Work. Geneva: International Labour Office.
Maimun, Achmad. 2019. Hukum Ketenagakerjaan Indonesia: Suatu Pengantar dan Dinamika Hubungan Industrial. Jakarta: Rajawali Pers.
Marzuki, Peter Mahmud. 2017. Penelitian Hukum: Edisi Revisi. Jakarta: Kencana Prenada Media Group.
Ministry of Manpower. 2003. Law of the Republic of Indonesia No. 13 of 2003 on Manpower. Jakarta: Ministry of Manpower of the Republic of Indonesia.
Ministry of Manpower. 2011. Law of the Republic of Indonesia No. 24 of 2011 on the Social Security Administering Bodies (BPJS). Jakarta: Ministry of Manpower of the Republic of Indonesia.
Ministry of Manpower. 2020. Law of the Republic of Indonesia No. 11 of 2020 on Job Creation. Jakarta: Ministry of Manpower of the Republic of Indonesia.
Ministry of Transportation. 2019. Regulation of the Minister of Transportation No. PM 12 of 2019 on Safety Protection for Motorcycle Users Used for Public Interest. Jakarta: Ministry of Transportation of the Republic of Indonesia.
Nastiti, Arief R. 2017. "Worker Agency in the Gig Economy: A Case Study of Online Motorcycle Taxi Drivers in Indonesia." Asian Journal of Social Science 45 (6): 698–725.
Pangeran, Muhammad. 2020. "Perlindungan Hukum dan Jaminan Sosial Bagi Pengemudi Ojek Online di Indonesia." Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan 50 (2): 412–430.
Prassl, Jeremias. 2018. Humans as a Service: The Promise and Perils of the On-Demand Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rahayu, Sri. 2021. "Algorithmic Control and Subordination in Platform Transport: A Legal Analysis of Driver Contracts." Indonesian Journal of International & Comparative Law 8 (1): 89–118.
Rizki, Budi. 2023. "Akses Jaminan Kesehatan dan Ketenagakerjaan Bagi Pekerja Platform Digital." Jurnal Masalah-Masalah Hukum 52 (1): 45–58.
Rosenblat, Alex, and Luke Stark. 2016. "Algorithmic Labor and Information Asymmetries: How Uber Uses Information and Algorithms to Control Workers." International Journal of Communication 10: 3758–3784.
Santoso, Budi. 2022. "Rekonstruksi Hukum Kemitraan Transportasi Online Berbasis Justice Policy." Jurnal Mimbar Hukum 34 (2): 201–228.
Sen, Amartya. 1999. Development as Freedom. New York: Oxford University Press.
Soekanto, Soerjono, and Sri Mamudji. 2015. Penelitian Hukum Normatif: Suatu Tinjauan Singkat. Jakarta: Rajawali Pers.
Subekti, R. 2014. Hukum Perjanjian. Jakarta: Intermasa.
Surie, Aditi. 2020. "Creating the Platform Economy: Algorithmic Management and Capital-Labor Relations." Development and Change 51 (6): 1420–1442.
Tjandra, Surya. 2018. "Labor Law and the Gig Economy in Indonesia: Challenges to Regulating Informal Work." Indonesian Labour Law Review 4 (1): 15–38.
UK Supreme Court. 2021. Uber BV and others v. Aslam and others [2021] UKSC 5. London: Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
Wijaya, Hendra. 2021. "Kondisi Kerja dan Risiko Kesehatan Kerja Pada Pengemudi Transportasi Online." Jurnal Kesehatan Masyarakat Indonesia 16 (3): 140–149.
Wood, Alex J., Mark Graham, Vili Lehdonvirta, and Isis Hjorth. 2019. "Good Gig, Bad Gig: Autonomy and Algorithmic Control in the Global Gig Economy." Work, Employment and Society 33 (1): 56–75.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All writings published in this journal are the personal views of the authors and do not represent the views of this journal or the authors’ affiliated institutions. Authors retain copyrights without any restriction under the license of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
