Grab Director Highlights Negative Impacts of Making Driver Partners Permanent Employees

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Grab Indonesia’s Country Managing Director, Neneng Goenadi, believes that changing the status of driver partners to permanent employees could negatively impact online motorcycle taxi (ojol) drivers.

Neneng explained that if all driver partners were required to become employees, only a small portion would likely be absorbed by the company. This limitation stems from the obligations companies must fulfill for employees, including salaries, leave entitlements, pensions, and other benefits.

She pointed to Spain’s 2021 Riders' Law as an example, which required courier partners to be classified as employees. Following the law’s implementation, one platform operating in Spain was able to retain only 17 percent of its driver partners as full-time employees.

"Imagine if in Indonesia, only 17 percent can be absorbed, where will the rest go? How will they earn income?" Neneng said during a press conference in South Jakarta on Friday, June 13, 2025.

She further stressed that employee status comes with a different set of rights and responsibilities compared to the partnership scheme. As employees, drivers would be subject to fixed working hours and a formal recruitment process, including interviews and regular performance evaluations. They could also be terminated if they fail to meet company standards.

"Once they are laid off, it's a panic to find a job, not easy. Unless there are many job opportunities available," Neneng added.

Neneng also warned of a potential ripple effect on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). A reduction in driver partners, she said, would directly affect food and goods delivery services relied upon by MSMEs using the platform.

She cited the case of Geneva, Switzerland, where Uber Eats was required to convert driver partners into employees. As a result, food delivery demand dropped by 42 percent. "Ninety percent of GrabFood merchants are MSMEs. If the number of partners decreases, this could erode the economic flow of MSMEs, which mostly rely on online orders," she said.

Previously, motorcycle taxi drivers affiliated with the Indonesian Transport Workers Union (SPAI) had called for formal employment status in accordance with labor laws. SPAI also urged the government to regulate protections such as guaranteed income, the removal of platform deductions, and a fair minimum wage.

"So that drivers receive a fixed and decent minimum wage every month, overtime pay, and pay during menstrual leave and maternity leave," SPAI Chairperson Lily Pujiaty said in a written statement on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.

The union also demanded equal and non-discriminatory treatment for all drivers, arguing that various tiered systems and special schemes currently in place actually reduce their earnings.

Deputy Minister of Manpower Immanuel Ebenezer Gerungan has previously stated that the government is working on regulations concerning rates, rights, and protections for app-based transport service partners. These may include provisions for holiday bonuses.

Adil Al Hasan contributed to the writing of this article.

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