Ministry of Law and Human Rights says eight per cent cut for online motorcycle taxi drivers will strengthen workers’ human rights
The policy would allow online motorcycle taxi drivers to receive 92 per cent of the fare, as the arrangement has begun to be implemented in online ride-hailing services. The Ministry of Law and Human Rights (KemenHAM) notes that the transformation of the digital economy must run in parallel with the principles of respect, protection, and fulfilment of human rights, especially for vulnerable workers in the platform economy. To date, online ride-hailing drivers have been an important part of supporting mobility and the growth of the national digital economy. Yet they face challenges related to adequate income, certainty of social protection, and bargaining power in digital partnership relationships.
Special Staff to the Minister of Law and Human Rights for Fulfilling Human Rights, Yosef Sampurna Nggarang, said that the eight per cent tariff policy should be understood not merely as an economic policy, but also as part of efforts to strengthen social cohesion between the state, platform companies, and digital workers. “The reduction of the platform operator’s tariff to eight per cent is an important step in delivering justice in the digital economy. From a human rights perspective, this policy directly relates to the right to a decent livelihood, protection of digital workers, platform economic fairness, social security, and workers’ participation in policymaking,” Yosef said in a written statement on Wednesday (20 May 2026).
Moreover, Yosef emphasised that the right to a decent livelihood is part of economic and social rights that the state must guarantee. In the context of digital workers, the state must ensure that advances in technology and platform business models do not generate new inequalities or practices that undermine human dignity.
KemenHAM also urges that the policy’s implementation be accompanied by strengthened social protection mechanisms for drivers, including access to health insurance, work accident coverage, and transparency in the algorithms and revenue-sharing systems on digital platforms.
A fair digital economy policy must be built through participatory dialogue among the government, platform companies, and the driver community to create a digital ecosystem that is sustainable and respects human rights.
Yosef explained that his team will continue to oversee the strengthening of a human-rights-based approach in the governance of the national digital economy, including in the app-based transport sector, so that technological progress can deliver fair and inclusive benefits for all Indonesian people.