The ministry was still finalizing the regulation, Yassierli told the online taxi drivers during their rally in front of the ministry on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta, on Monday.

“I agree that THR is our culture. I can imagine that at the end of Ramadan, the children would ask, ‘Where’s your THR, dad?’,” he said, as quoted by kompas.com.

“Yes, we feel it. Before I became a minister, I was a loyal customer of online [ride-hailing] applications.”

Yassierli emphasized that all concerned parties should sit together and discuss the matter as a form of businesses’ care for their workers.

“Give us time to finalize the regulation in the coming few days,” he said.

Ojol drivers and transportation workers staged a rally demanding the payment of THR from the ride-hailing companies.

The companies, however, have refused to pay the drivers THR arguing that they are not company employees with formal relations, but rather partners.

Indonesian Transport Workers Union (SPAI) chairwoman Lili Pujiati earlier said that the demonstration would take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"Today [Monday], we, the Alliance of THR Demands for Ojol, are demanding THR for ojol, online taxis and couriers by holding protests at the Manpower Ministry and in cities across Indonesia, including a mass 'off bid' [turning off the app] action," Lili said in a written statement on Monday, as reported by bisnis.com.

The protest not only involved ojol drivers but also online taxi drivers and couriers, with an estimated 500 to 700 participants.

The demonstrators were members of three labor confederations, five labor unions and 90 labor communities.

The three confederations were the Congress of Indonesia Unions Alliance (KASBI), the All-Indonesia Workers Union Confederation (KSPSI) and the All-Indonesia United Workers Confederation (KPBI).

The demonstrators demanded the provision of THR equivalent to the provincial minimum wage for workers. They are also calling for the elimination of the partnership employment system, which they believe disadvantages workers.

According to Lili, this demand reflects the accumulated dissatisfaction of transportation workers with app providers or transportation service companies, which are seen as neglecting the rights of workers who have been employed for years.

They base their demands on the Labor Law, which classifies online motorcycle taxi drivers as permanent workers due to their fulfillment of the key elements of employment, wages and instructions in the employer-employee relationship.

"Ten years have passed and no one has provided THR for them [the drivers], even though they work every day and generate hundreds of millions," Lili said, as quoted by kompas.com.

The ojol drivers urged the government to step in and find a solution to their demands.

They also called on the Manpower Ministry to issue populist policies that favor ojol drivers and workers from other platforms.

To ensure the safety of the ojol demonstration, the Jakarta Police deployed a total of 356 officers.