TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsGovt urged to tackle 'disguised employment' in gig economy
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Logos of ride-hailing service providers Gojek and Grab are seen on helmets worn by a ride hailing motorcycle taxi driver and his passenger in Jakarta on Nov. 12, 2025. (The Jakarta Post/Iqro Rinaldi)
W
orkers' associations have urged action to address the issue of “disguised employment” faced by some gig workers in Indonesia, while a government official says a dedicated bill to regulate the growing gig economy is underway.
According to a recent study from the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS), “disguised employment” refers to the gig workers who are “subjected to working conditions and partnerships with little to no flexibility, minimal decision-making power and limited bargaining opportunities or mechanisms”.
“Gig work shouldn’t be seen as a uniform category. Effective policy is one that can protect the most vulnerable worker, without sacrificing flexibility and other working opportunities with higher competitiveness,” Jimmy Daniel Berlianto, senior researcher and policy analyst at the CIPS, said in a public discussion on Wednesday.
The CIPS study maps the current state of gig work in Indonesia based on variations in workers’ bargaining power and degree of work autonomy, with drivers for ride-hailing services falling into the "disguised employment" category as they have low autonomy and limited bargaining power.
Read also: Govt rolls out allowances, doubles ride-hailing bonuses ahead of Idul Fitri
The study also finds that ride-hailing drivers experience “fake flexibility”, a situation of having flexibility in some working aspects, such as choosing one’s working hours, but being significantly constrained by disincentive mechanisms, such as the risk of a lower performance rating if inactive.
Syaiful Huda, deputy chair of House of Representatives Commission V, which oversees infrastructure and transportation, said at the same discussion that he had initiated drafting a bill on the gig economy to fill the “legal vacuum” for gig workers in various sectors, from the creative industries to transportation.
