Minister of Micro, Small and Medium EnterprisesUMKM) Maman Abdurahman proposed that online motorcycle taxi (ojol) drivers be included in the category of UMKM players. According to him, the drivers are part of a digital ecosystem that is growing rapidly along with online merchants and food ordering services. The government considers it necessary to have a legal basis that provides protection for business actors in the digital sector.
Maman suggested that the policy be set out in the form of a Presidential Regulation or Government Regulation. "We now see the need for rules that can maintain or protect business actors engaged in the digital market sector. And this is extraordinary. One of them is from ojol. In the digital market ecosystem, there are transporters, applicators, and also UMKM or merchants," he said, quoted by detikFinance, Monday (27/10/2025).
The Ministry of UMKM has been discussing this plan since June with several other ministries, including the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Communications and Digital. The discussion is carried out to find a form of regulation that allows ojol drivers to be recognized as independent business actors. The plan is said to be outlined in a ministerial regulation as a first step.
This proposal refers to Law Number 20/2008 on UMKM and Government Regulation Number 7/2021 on the Ease, Protection, and Empowerment of Cooperatives and UMKM. The government considers that the legal basis is sufficient to expand the scope of business actors to the digital sector. This recognition is expected to open access to protection and financing for ojol drivers.
If the policy is implemented, ojol drivers have the opportunity to obtain a number of facilities such as subsidized fuel oil, three-kilogram LPG, and access to People's Business Credit with low interest. The government is also preparing human resource training programs and tax incentives for micro businesses with turnover below Rp4.8 billion per year.
A warm welcome from ojol drivers
Chairman of the Garda Indonesia Ojol Drivers Association, Igun Wicaksono, welcomed the government's plan to include ojol drivers in the category of micro businesses. According to him, the policy plan can provide a clearer legal basis for drivers who have not had protection in partnership relationships with application companies.
According to Igun, this recognition can be the first step for the state to provide protection that has not been strictly regulated so far. Igun hopes that the government will not only set a new status, but also ensure that there is a strong legal umbrella in the revision of the law on UMKM so that the position of ojol drivers is officially recognized.
Igun assessed that this policy also opens opportunities for drivers to gain access to various welfare improvement programs. Igun emphasized the need for better social security, including health protection and employment insurance, which have not been fully available to ojol drivers.
In addition, Igun believes that the process of drafting regulations needs to involve drivers so that the resulting policies are in accordance with the real conditions on the ground. "We hope that the government and the DPR will involve us in the discussion of the revision of the law so that the decisions made are in favor of the drivers," said Igun. With such involvement, said Igun, protection for online transportation workers can run more fairly and thoroughly.
Nailul Huda, Director of Digital Economy at the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS), believes that the main problem in the online transportation sector is the absence of regulations that fully regulate the relationship between drivers and platforms.
According to him, the current regulations are still spread across several ministries with unbalanced portions. "Regulations on tariffs are in the Ministry of Transportation, forms of partnership in the Ministry of UMKM, while the Ministry of Manpower has not regulated it because it is considered a partnership," he said.
According to Huda, in the current condition, the Ministry of UMKM is the most appropriate institution to oversee the regulation of the online transportation sector. The regulations made, according to him, must emphasize that partnerships are different from formal employment relationships that stipulate certain working hours.
Huda also emphasized the importance of involving the drivers' association so that the rules are balanced and favorable to both parties, including in terms of tariffs and health insurance.
He added that recognizing drivers as micro-entrepreneurs will have a double consequence. On the one hand, drivers cannot demand holiday allowances or minimum wage like formal workers because income depends on performance.
"But I think this is fair enough considering the agreement is a partnership, not a direct employment relationship," he said.
Flexibility is a key feature of jobs in the gig economy. In this system, drivers can work for more than one employer, either in the same or different industries.
"When work is flexible, drivers can source income from more than one place and gain greater benefits," says Huda.
Huda believes that each status option carries its own benefits and risks. If the driver is an employee, there will be obligations for fixed working hours and the potential for termination of employment like workers in general. On the other hand, with a partnership status under the UMKM umbrella, drivers do not have full protection like employees, but get the flexibility to manage their time and determine their employer.
Suar has contacted GoTo and Grab to ask for the applicators' responses to this policy plan. However, until this news was published, no official statement had been given.
Legal status, fair rates, and algorithm transparency
On the other hand, Chairman of the Online Drivers Association (ADO) Taha Syafariel believes that the government's plan to categorize online transportation drivers as UMKM actors is valid and does not conflict with the law.
The policy can help drivers if implemented properly. However, Taha emphasized that before discussing UMKM, the government needs to ensure the clarity of the legal status of drivers as app-based transportation workers.
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According to Taha, the drivers have been in a dual position. "We are called partners with the applicator, but in practice we are transportation service providers," he said.
This situation creates legal uncertainty because there is no regulation that firmly establishes the position of drivers in the national labor system. So, for Taha, if they are immediately classified as UMKM actors without clarity of worker status, the government is actually expanding the gray area that has been avoided.
Taha also questioned the extent to which the Ministry of UMKM has the capacity to guarantee employment protection for drivers. "Can UMKM guarantee accidents, permanent disability insurance, or termination of employment? That is not their authority," he said.
Without such guarantees, Taha believes that recognition as UMKM will only add to the administrative burden without improving the legal position of ojol drivers.
So, for Taha, the discussion of online transportation policies should not stop at determining business status alone. Taha said there are three main things that need to be guaranteed by the state, namely the certainty of the legal status of the driver, the determination of a decent tariff, and the transparency of the algorithm in the application work system.
These three aspects must be regulated across ministries so that the protection of ojol drivers is truly effective and touches the root of the problem in the field.
