Ngalong: On Precariousness

Triono, a motorbike taxi driver in Serang Banten, was hit by a pickup truck while dropping off passengers early in the morning, on Saturday, June 29 2024. Triono was taken to hospital, but his life could not be saved. Meanwhile, the passenger, who was thought to be a factory worker, died on the spot. Triono's motorbike was smashed to pieces.

The story isn't over yet. One of the three online transportation applications used by Triono provides bereavement payment of IDR 3 million, another only provides a bouquet of flowers, while another remains silent. Meanwhile, state-owned insurance company Jasa Raharja avoided providing death insurance because Triono's motorbike was in arrears on taxes.

In the last four years, Triono decided to ngalong, aka activate his ojol account at night: from 09.00 pm to 07.00 am. A month before he died, I met Triono. He is carrying a helmet with the logo of an online transportation company. The logo is also displayed on the jacket’s. With his dull face and sleep-deprived eyes, Triono looks more like a walking billboard than an online motorbike taxi. This is very different from the Gosend brand ambassador Ariel a vocalist of Noah Band, and the Gofood brand ambassador Bangtan Boys, who are increasingly sleek and and look to the future with certainty.

Ngalong is derived from the word Bat. In the local language Bat is Kalong. The term of ngalong is used by online motorbike taxis that activate their accounts at night.

My observation, one from five of the estimated 5 million motorbike taxi use ngalong as method to get orders, especially since the bonus and incentive policy was stopped in 2020. Even before 2020 they use ngalong to get more bonuses and incentives from platform. There are bad stories about motorbike taxi drivers who choose ngalong: from being robbed, not being paid by passengers, having irregular rest periods, mental stress, getting fictitious orders to being killed (Rianur, 2/2/2024)

Menurut para pengemudi, ngalong adalah metode untuk menghindari persaingan sesama driver, apalagi jumlah aplikasi transportasi daring pun bertambah. Saat ini, terdapat empat tranportasi daring, yaitu Gojek, Grab, Maxim dan Indrive. Dugaan mereka, di malam hari ojol tidak sebanyak siang hari dan pengguna ojol tetap. Persaingan sesama driver merupakan salah satu ciri bisnis transportasi daring. Iklim persaingan diteguhkan dan dirawat oleh platform melalui mekanisme rating, pelevelan dan sistem pembayaran satuan. Para driver dipecah-belah oleh sistem internal platform aplikasi dan sesama platform aplikasi. Politik pecah-belah dilakukan pula oleh penyelenggara negara dengan menerapkan kebijakan tarif berbeda di setiap daerah. Tarif di pusat kota lebih besar ketimbang di wilayah pinggiran.

According to drivers, ngalong is a method to avoid competition among drivers, especially since the number of online transportation applications is increasing. Currently, there are four online transportation: Gojek, Grab, Maxim and Indrive. They suspect that at night there are not as many ojol as during the day and there are still motorbike users. Competition among drivers is one of the characteristics of the online transportation business. The competitive climate is determined and maintained by the platform through rating mechanisms, leveling, and piece-rate systems. Drivers are divided by the internal systems of algorithms platforms and among platforms. The divisive politics also carried out by state administrators by implementing different tariff policies in each region. Rates in the city center are higher than in suburban areas.

Online motorbike taxis work on the streets under the hot sun, pollution, wind and rain. It is generally known that public roads are potholed and poorly lit at night. On the streets, motorbike taxi drivers compete with other motorized vehicles, giving rise to the term 'hit or crashed'. As an illustration, from 2021 to 2023, the number of traffic accidents will increase. In 2023, the number of traffic accidents will reach 116,000 cases. This figure has increased from 2022, which reached 94,617 cases. Much higher than accidents in 2021, which reached 70,000 accident cases. Of the total number of traffic accidents, 77 percent of accidents were experienced by motorbikes (Dephub.go.id, 19/9/2023; Indonesia.go.id, 1/1/2024). Poor working conditions is the second characteristic of online transportation.

The application platform uses the slogan, ‘You can manage your earnings, anytime and anywhere’. Online motorbike taxis is lured by flexible time and place settings to manage income. This slogan is nothing more than a trap that conditions online motorbike taxis to only be able to receive and deliver orders to arrive at their destination. If online motorbike taxis fail to earn enough income, they will blame themselves for not enough diligent.

Indeed, the platform provides the options 'manual bid' and 'autobid', which means that online motorcycle taxis can choose to 'accept, ignore or reject' the order or 'accept automatically'. When receiving orders for delivery of goods, people and food, the platform also informs the type of order that will be sent. The platform also provides reasons for canceling orders, if they do not match the order. However, platforms, especially in-person delivery, do not provide the volume and weight of orders to be delivered. The driver will know the volume and weight of the order after dealing with the consumer. In the mass media and in daily stories in the ojol community, information about online motorbike taxis being forced to deliver goods beyond the capacity of motorbikes is widely spread, for example, delivering refrigerators (Tribunnews.com, 27/2/2017; Detik.com, 3/12/2020 ) .

The choices 'ignore', 'reject' and 'cancel' will have an impact on the level, performance and rating of the driver's account, resulting in the loss of the opportunity to get orders in the next period. On behalf of consumers and algorithmic systems, application platforms have also prepared punishment mechanisms ranging from abandoning applications to terminating drivers. Unpredictability is the third characteristic of online transportation systems. In this case, the more motorbike taxi drivers take ngalong, the greater the unpredictable working conditions. They work at night on the streets, with poor lighting, occasionally encountering fake orders and robbers.

Hiding behind the word 'partner' and ‘contractual independent’ orders, delivery distances and wage calculations for motorbike taxi workers are regulated through algorithms. This part is one of the confusion among labor observers in Indonesia whos categorizing online motorbike taxi as part of labor. Because they only pay attention to the relationship between online motorbike taxi and platform. They’re struggle with the terms of the partnership agreement narrated by the application platform. So they take great pains to detect fake partnerships by referring to Law Number 20 of 2008 concerning Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Government Regulation Number 17 of 2013 concerning the implementation of partnerships. Some say that motorbikes are categorized as work tools by removing them from the driver's account in the digital ecosystem. As a condition for becoming an online motorbike taxi, of course motorbikes and gadgets are attributes attached to the driver's body.

Partnerships are another form of flexible labor market. These terms are commonly used interchangeably with the terms contractual independence and partnership. Therefore, defining online transportation providers as employers will be more useful than using the term digital platform which seems neutral.

When sending an order, while sitting, the online motorcycle taxi driver's attention is focused on three things: delivering the shipment safely to its destination, avoiding accidents, hoping not to get a bad assessment from consumers, and thinking about getting a new order or going home immediately. Conserving energy is the next characteristic of online transportation.

The story is about workers who have no job security and no protection, not an online motorbike taxi monopoly. Similar stories can be found in plantations, mining, and port and airport transportation. Not unlike Guy Standing's (2011) lament about the precariat, a new phenomenon in modern industry. Standing lamented that the various luxuries of European labor were being hit by neoliberalism through flexible labor markets. European workers lost the luxury of being ‘welfare workers’ who could enjoy ample time off while throwing away the poor working conditions and long hours of workers in Asian countries more than a century ago.

In Indonesia, the types of flexible workers above have existed for a long time, are preserved and are increasingly widespread in other sectors. Sectors that were previously considered safe, stable, classy and have a bright future have turned into unstable sectors with a bleak future. This type of temporary work, without decent wages and social protection, is spread among state-owner enterprise, state civil servants and the manufacturing sector.

Triono, and millions of online motorbike taxis drivers every day, without even a break, deliver people, goods and food. It must be delivered safely to its destination on time.

Apa yang dilakukan oleh Triono dan jutaan ojol tersebut? Bisnis pengantaran merupakan salah satu tulang punggung perekonomian. Orang diantarkan dari rumah ke tempat kerja dan sebaliknya; makanan dan barang diantarkan dari toko ke pembeli. Mereka-lah yang menghidupkan ekonomi daerah. Laporan Momentum Work menyebutkan, Indonesia merupakan salah satu negara yang mencatat GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) terbesar di Asia Tenggara untuk bisnis pengiriman makanan, yakni sebesar USD 4,6 miliar atau Rp 72,5 triliun sepanjang 2023. Bisnis pengiriman makanan terbesar ditempati oleh GrabFood sebesar 50 persen, GoFood 38 persen dan terakhir ShopeeFood 12 persen (CNBC Indonesia, 1/2/2024). Keuntungan Grab misalnya. Pada Kuarta IV 2023 mencapai USD 5,44 miliar. Dengan rincian bisnis pengiriman naik 13 persen menjadi USD 2,65 miliar, taksi dan ojek online alias ojol naik 28 persen menjadi USD 1,47 miliar, keuangan turun 14 persen menjadi USD 1,26 miliar, inisiatif baru naik 40 persen menjadi USD 64 juta (Katadata.co.id, 26/2/2024).

What are Triono and the millions of online motorcycle taxis doing? The delivery business is one of the backbones of the economy. People are driven from home to work and vice versa; food and goods are delivered from stores to buyers. They are the ones who revive the regional economy. The Momentum Work report states that Indonesia is one of the countries that recorded the largest GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) in Southeast Asia for the food delivery business, USD 4.6 billion or IDR 72.5 trillion in 2023. The largest food delivery business is occupied by GrabFood 50 percent, GoFood 38 percent and finally ShopeeFood 12 percent (CNBC Indonesia, 1/2/2024). Grab's benefits for example. In the fourth quarter of 2023 it will reach USD 5.44 billion. With details, the delivery business rose 13 percent to USD 2.65 billion, taxis and online motorbike taxis, aka ojol, rose 28 percent to USD 1.47 billion, finance fell 14 percent to USD 1.26 billion, new initiatives rose 40 percent to USD 64 million (Katadata.co.id, 26/2/2024).

Not only supporting economic transactions, Triono and the online motorbike taxi are carrying out the duties of the state and the company; being ready to deliver orders within 24 hours. In fact, the obligation to provide transportation services in cities and districts is the obligation of regional governments at the city or district level, as confirmed in Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 22 of 2009 concerning Road Traffic and Transportation Article 139. This article also states that the provision of public transportation services is carried out by state-owned, regional-owned enterprises or other legal entities. The obligation to provide safe and comfortable public transportation is also the obligation of companies that employ workers at night.

Even though online motorbike taxi are a big contributor to the economic transactions of the online transportation business, covering the duties of the state and manufacturing companies, they are not referred to as people employed by platform companies, nor are they referred to as transportation service workers, nor are they referred to as workers in manufacturing companies. They are people who are not protected, not recognized and cannot access legal protection, and are not even considered important by formal labor unions.