- 23/03/2022
- Category: Press Release
Twitter Spaces, March 14th, 2022 – Lately, the ride-hailing (ojol) drivers community has been thriving in voicing demands, especially demands related to the issue of their fair work. Most of these demands were initiated by ojol communities to facilitate mutual aid actions on the street which later developed into a larger community. In response to this, CfDS held an OPOSIT with the theme ‘How Do Actions and Organizations Affect Ride-Hailing Drivers’ Demands?’ by inviting Kejo (Representative of Gojek on Twitter) and Arif Novianto (Researcher at Institute of Governance and Public Affairs UGM) as speakers, along with Nabiyla Risyfa Izzati (Lecturer of Labor Law at Faculty of Law UGM and Adjunct Researcher CfDS UGM) as the moderator (https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1mrxmaeqYDMxy).
The Development of Action Methods and Functions of the Ojol Organization
At first, the ‘Gojek on Twitter’ community was formed by several ojol drivers who coincidentally met on Twitter. Kejo said that the community aims to be a forum for sharing information about how Gojek works and is used to monitor road conditions. The readily available information also helps drivers who have just joined Gojek. Since then, the ‘Gojek on Twitter’ community has been growing bigger and bigger. Now, the ‘Gojek on Twitter’ community is often invited by Gojek to discuss and share stories about the working conditions of ojol drivers.
Arif Novianto also added that currently, based on a survey, 70% of ojol drivers have organized. Organizations are considered an essential part of ojol‘s work because of the harsh working conditions on the streets, especially when ojol drivers are repressed by conventional ojek and taxis. Generally, the formation of organizations is driven by a common area, platform, or similarity of ideas. Over time, the organization of ojol drivers underwent a shift in function. Previously, organizations were only used as a place to help each other and share information. Now, the ojol driver’s organization is starting to discuss the issue of employability, ranging from the problem of reducing tariffs to incentives.
Arif also saw two tendencies regarding fighting in the community: the micro and macro ways of fighting. Communities with a micro-struggle usually aim to understand how the platform works, for example, by understanding existing applications’ algorithms. Meanwhile, the community with a macro way of fighting seeks to improve the system or the way the platform works better. In other words, the issues targeted by the community with a macro way of fighting are broader, including driver recruitment and tariff determination. Furthermore, apart from the organization, the methods of action taken by ojol drivers have also developed. In previous years, ojol drivers carried out most actions through larger organizations such as communities or unions. However, since the pandemic, the average action taken is not included in the community agenda, and most of the actions are sporadic and spontaneous.
The Complexity of Ojol‘s Fair Work Issues and Future Expectations
From time to time, the issue of the employability of ojol drivers encounters complexities that are rarely touched by the public. Kejo said that ojol drivers in one platform can still be divided according to the selected service. It is not uncommon for platforms to provide different policies for each service. For example, Gojek provides go send drivers with income guarantees, while go ride drivers do not get income guarantees. Agreeing to what Kejo said, Arif also noted that the issues related to ojol work were very complex. There are government regulations that apply to certain services. For example, the Regulation of the Minister of Transportation, which regulates the determination of upper and lower limit fares only applies to services between passengers. Determining the upper and lower limit rates is also important to apply to services between goods or food to avoid price wars. Therefore, it is not surprising that the focus of issues within the ojol community is divided. Kejo said, “People see that the jacket is the same, it means the work is the same. However, we are different and [the issue inside] it is very complex.”
In the future, Kejo hopes that the government can contribute more to fulfill the fair work of ojol drivers, especially regarding the fulfillment of upper and lower tariff rates for goods and food delivery services. Arif also revealed that actions and organizations greatly influenced the demands of ojol. The recognition of ojol in Indonesian law is also the result of the actions that have been taken. He said, “In the future, there needs to be a more massive movement; this is a pretty crucial point. Encouraging is impossible to do with spontaneous, sporadic, and small actions. It needs some large organization or forum that is massive and structured to overshadow to encourage even better improvements.”
Author: Aridiva Firdharizki
Editor: Firya Qurratu’ain Abisono
