Celvin Moniaga Sipahutar, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto is urging ride-hailing companies such as Gojek and Grab to give their drivers the much-awaited Eid bonuses.

Prabowo had summoned Gojek Tokopedia's boss Patrick Walujo, Grab's chief executive officer Anthony Tan, and a bunch of driver representatives to the presidential palace in Jakarta on Monday. It was then that Prabowo announced that all ride-sharing companies in the country should give Eid bonuses to the drivers, citing that they had largely contributed to the country's transportation and logistics services.

"The government urges app-based transportation services to give the Eid bonuses to the online workers. They should also pay them in cash," Prabowo said.

According to Prabowo, these bonuses should take into account how active the drivers are. The government will announce the amount and the payment mechanism in a manpower minister circular. At present, there are 250,000 active online drivers and couriers with up to 1.5 million individuals working part-time.

Eid has become a highly anticipated holiday among Indonesian workers as they typically receive a bonus equal to one month's wage. Ride-hailing drivers are informal workers and usually do not receive Eid bonuses.

Prabowo also called on both state and private-owned companies to roll out the bonuses no later than seven days before Eid.

This year, Eid – which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan – will likely fall on March 31. Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim-majority country, and countless Indonesians typically travel back to their hometowns during the almost two-week-long Eid holidays. Many people spend the bonuses on these travels or their beloved families.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/business/prabowo-urges-ride-hailing-companies-to-give-drivers-eid-bonuse