JakartaPost-July 23
The government’s plan to classify ride-hailing drivers as microbusiness owners has raised questions about how Indonesia should regulate its growing gig economy, with experts urging policymakers to avoid overregulation that could hamper job flexibility and impose a one-size-fits-all approach. Jimmy Berlianto, a senior researcher at the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS), said gig workers operate under varying working arrangements that differ from traditional employment, making uniform regulation inappropriate. “The regulatory framework should therefore not be applied uniformly. Even regulations governing gig work cannot adopt a one-size-fits-all approach because working systems and conditions differ across occupations,” he said to The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. He added that Indonesia should consider establishing a distinct legal category for gig workers. “A new legal category for the gig economy ecosystem should be considered. To my
understanding, this is also the basis for the drafting of the Gig Workers Bill. The draft that has circulated is already fairly comprehensive in taking into account the diversity of gig work and key factors affecting gig workers, such as algorithm transparency,” Jimmy said, referring to the market mechanism that connects gig workers with parties seeking to use their services. MSMEs Minister Maman Abdurrahman said the policy would expand drivers’ access to government support programs, including entrepreneurship training, business development assistance and financing through the subsidized microcredit (KUR) scheme. According to Maman, the government considers ride-hailing drivers part of the MSME sector because they independently run their businesses, manage productive assets, utilize digital technology and develop entrepreneurship amid Indonesia’s rapidly evolving digital economy. Read more at:
https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2026/07/23/flexibility-bargaining-power-in-focus-as-ri-treats-gig-workers-as-micro-businesses?utm_source=(direct)&utm_medium=home_headlines.
