Indonesia's gig drivers plan more protests as anger rises

They blame govt for its longstanding failure to create enough secure, well-paying jobs

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Mr Raden Igun Wicaksono has a warning for Indonesia’s leaders: The fight is just getting started.

The chairman of one of the country’s largest motorcycle taxi associations has promised “greater and greater escalation”, warning that millions of drivers are ready to ignite what he calls the Ojol Revolution, “ojol” being a shorthand for motorcycle taxi drivers booked through apps like Gojek or Grab.

Just weeks ago, Mr Wicaksono and his fellow workers joined students and labourers and helped force lawmakers to scale back official perks and oust some politicians from Parliament.

On Sept 17, thousands of drivers will be back at Parliament again, demanding laws that protect gig workers who keep Southeast Asia’s biggest economy humming.

This fight has turned almost two million motorcycle taxi drivers into President Prabowo Subianto’s newest political liability.

They are visible in every traffic jam and at every street corner, clad in the green uniforms of Gojek and Grab.

They are also poorly paid, largely uninsured and increasingly angry at the government, blaming it for its longstanding failure to create enough secure and well-paying jobs for the country’s growing workforce.

“We are ready to be the trigger for another revolution in Indonesia because millions of our peers are no longer able to live a decent life,” said Mr Wicaksono, chairman of Garda, a drivers’ association with almost 7,000 members that is organising the protest.

Motorcycle taxi driving was supposed to be a stopgap for the jobless.

Instead, it has become a national symbol of what economists call Indonesia’s employment crisis: 59 per cent of workers are stuck in the informal sector, labouring long hours for little pay and virtually no security.