A Legal Protection Model for Gig Workers in the Digital Platform Economy: Towards Labor Law Reform in Indonesia

Abstract

The rapid growth of the digital platform economy has given rise to the gig economy, with gig workers serving as its primary workforce, including online ride-hailing drivers, delivery couriers, and app-based freelance workers. Although their number continues to increase and contributes significantly to the national economy, Indonesian labor law has not specifically and comprehensively regulated their legal status and labor rights protection. This study aims to analyze the legal protection of gig workers within the Indonesian labor law system and formulate a legal protection model for labor law reform. This research employs a normative legal research method using statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches. Legal materials were collected through library research, consisting of primary, secondary, and tertiary legal sources, and analyzed qualitatively using a prescriptive method. The findings reveal that gig workers face legal uncertainty due to partnership-based legal relationships adopted by digital platform companies, excluding them from statutory rights granted to formal employees. Furthermore, unequal bargaining positions exist between platform companies and gig workers, reflected in platform control over fares, incentives, job allocation, and account deactivation. Analysis based on legal protection, welfare state, and modern employment relations theories demonstrates the necessity of state intervention. This study proposes a model comprising recognition of gig workers’ legal status, social security and occupational safety protection, algorithmic transparency, effective dispute resolution mechanisms, and strengthened government supervision of digital platform companies to promote legal certainty, justice, and welfare while supporting sustainable development of Indonesia’s digital economy.