- 10/11/2022
- Category: Press Release
Fairwork Indonesia tim represented by Center for Digital Society (CfDS) UGM together with Center for Innovation Policy and Governance (CIPG), invited representatives from the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kemenkominfo RI), the Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker RI), the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub RI), platforms, and worker associations, to discuss ways to find a solution for the welfare and justice issues of gig workers in Indonesia. Forum Group Discussion (FGD) “Fairwork Indonesia Discussion: Collaboration to Support the Welfare of Gig Workers”. This discussion was held online on Tuesday (8/11) to discuss the challenges of the growing gig economy today.
Representative of the Kemnaker RI, Yuli Adiratna as Director of Manpower Norm Inspection, Directorate General of Supervision of Manpower and Occupational Safety and Health, said on the occasion “strategic plans that can be taken together are to start paying attention to protection, fulfillment of social security, and accidents for these gig workers. It must be discussed further regarding the potential risks of work safety, loss of income, incompatibility of working time, and clarity of legal relationship between drivers and adjustments to the essence of regulations that already exist or are being prepared”.
The challenges faced by gig workers, especially for independent employees whose salaries are based on completed work (by orders) such as online taxis or logistics couriers, are greatly affected by fuel prices. The increase in fuel prices has an impact on increasing the basic tariff for this industry. So there are many pros and cons regarding situations that are considered to be equally detrimental to drivers and users.
Bram Hertasning as Head of Urban Transport Policy Division, Kemenhub RI, said “a survey conducted by the Kemenhub RI regarding tariff adjustments has made online motorcycle taxi service users reduce their use. Drivers income, which is almost the same as operating costs, has been affected by decrease in user demand, which indicates that worker’s income are still low and even decreasing”.
Muhammad Fadh as Coordinator of Post and Courier Industry Development of Kemenkominfo, realized that the industrial revolution 4.0 and supported by pandemic, increased the growth of gig workers. Kemenkominfo asked that courier and logistics service companies respond by taking into account the effectiveness and efficiency of companies and services. However, monitoring and evaluation related to service and technical quality, including the granting of business licensing is fully the responsibility of the ministry.
“Kemenkominfo has prepared a set of rules, monitoring, and law enforcement efforts on a number of application business actors. We also do public hiring to understand the problems that occur in the society. We always encourage the creation of fair and transparent business agreements, as well as provisions related to service standards and postal safety for workers” said Fadh.
Considering the public’s interest in using online applications to help with mobility and logistics needs, with the proliferation of gig workers in Indonesia, it is necessary to adjust regulations from the government side and the platform as soon as possible. Treviliana Eka Putri (Fairwork Indonesia Researcher) in her presentation conveyed that Fairwork’s research results for the last two years showed the low employability realized by platforms operating in Indonesia.
“We see that the platform’s efforts are still low in proving eligibility guarantees for its workers. It is hoped that the next step that can be taken together is to immediately draw up regulations that involve multi-stakeholders, both associations, consumers, and platform. We invite all parties to be able to voice this issues more in order to achieve justice for workers” said Trevi.
In this discussion, it was emphasized that it is important to have a communication and coordination strategy between various parties, both related to the application of online motorcycle taxi fares, and worker protection, to labor relations. The preparation of regulations that will be prepared to regulate the gig economy is expected to involve stakeholders, in terms of academics associations, workers, and of course the platform. This is to support the welfare and better quality of gig workers in the future, as well as to contribute to a sustainable national economy.
This event can be watched on the CfDS Youtube channel, at this following link: https://youtu.be/7DVeE6XPWD0.
The research report can be downloaded through: https://fair.work/en/fw/ratings/.
About Center for Digital Society (CfDS) UGM
Center for Digital Society (CfDS) UGM is a study center under the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Gadjah Mada University. Through various researches and public discussion events, CfDS seeks to provide a means of educating the public about literacy and the use of digital technology.
About Center for Innovation Policy and Governance (CIPG)
Center for Innovation Policy and Governance (CIPG) is a research-based think tank that aspires to excel in the fields of science, innovation, policy, and governance. The CIPG has been staffed by a research-based advisory group since 2010, and has become the first advisory group in Indonesia with an interest in building Indonesia’s research capacity in various sectors.
About Fairwork
Fairwork is a global project based at the Oxford Internet Institute and the WZB berlin Social Science Centre. Through a global network of researchers, Fairwork evaluates working conditions on digital platform and ranks them according to five fair work principles. Globally, Fairwork works closely with workers platforms, advocates and policymakers to envision and build a more equitable future of work.
