Essential Workers Without Job Protection: Workers’ Power and the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Indonesian Gig Workers

• Main Authors: Novianto, Arif, Wulansari, Anindya Dessi, Keban, Yeremias T., Hernawan, Ari
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2023
• Subjects: COVID-19 pandemic; gig workers; social security; workers’ power; precarious work
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/apssr/vol23/iss3/4; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/apssr/article/1505/viewcontent/RA_203_final.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has not only undermined global health but has also shaken the economy at large. Gig workers in the ride-hailing, goods delivery, and food delivery sectors, which are predicted as future jobs and categorized as essential jobs, are one of the jobs hardest hit by COVID-19. Gig work, currently characterized as piecework and without job security, where the workers depend on daily income, makes it one of the most vulnerable jobs. So when the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, their income decreased drastically, and the lack of job protection forced them to live in poverty. This article analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gig workers in Indonesia. This study uses a mixed method in data collection that was carried out by in-depth interviews (52 people), focus group discussions (two times), and surveys (290 gig workers). We found that: (a) there was a 67% decline in income during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a downward trend also occurred before the pandemic due to the end of the honeymoon period; (b) the lack of job protection during the COVID-19 pandemic forced gig workers to work longer and work harder to get bigger income opportunities; and (c) gig workers’ gain position is weak due to large queues of workers (marketplace power), jobs that can be replaced by other people at any time (workplace power), and weak organization of gig workers (associational power) makes them unable to win demands for protection and rights for digital gig workers.