Healthcare Protection for Gig Workers: A Brief Case During Pandemic

Abstract

The social distancing strategy is one of the policy strategies in handling the COVID-19 and following other countries, in March 2020, Indonesia also established a Large-Scale Social Restriction (PSBB) policy which requires citizens to stop various activities in public spaces. However, not everyone can work safely from their home. People who work on the gig economy, for example delivery workers, cannot simply "work from home", their work requires them to travel to multiple places, where they are in close contact with significant numbers of people. Gig workers typically pay in low wages. Also gig companies do not generally offer healthcare coverage. The purpose of this research is to determine the form of legal protection that should be obtained by Gig Workers. Especially about their health care protection. This research will use socio legal research as the method, will serve to see the law in the real sense and examine how the law works in the society. Based on the research conducted in the period July-September 2020 in Kediri, it shows that not all gig workers are registered as BPJS Ketenagakerjaan members by employers but by themselves, and some of them do not even have health insurance at all.