IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bcp/journl/v9y2025i1p2110-2123.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Determining the Assurance of Rights and Interests for Gig Workers in the Malaysian Ride-Hailing Industry: A Strategic Analysis for Sustained Industry Participation

Author

Listed:
  • Silvia Devita Syahril

    (Faculty of Business and Management, University Teknologi MARA,)

Abstract

This study explores the rights and interests of ride-hailing workers within Malaysia’s growing gig economy, which offers both opportunities and challenges. The gig economy, particularly in ride-hailing services, provides flexibility and increased income potential but also raises concerns regarding worker protections. This study explores the working conditions, employment status, and social protections available to ride-hailing workers in Malaysia, focusing on issues such as worker classification, fair earnings, safety measures, and the power dynamics between platform companies and workers. Additionally, the paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the stability of workers’ incomes and the overall gig economy. A significant gap in the existing literature is the lack of comprehensive analysis into the unique challenges faced by Malaysian gig workers, especially in navigating the post-pandemic landscape. The research methodology involves a quantitative approach by using questionnaires surveys with ride-hailing drivers to gather insights into their experiences. The expected findings suggest that while ride-hailing services offer flexibility, many workers still struggle with income instability, limited social protections, and an imbalance of power between workers and platform companies. The paper proposes that for sustained industry participation, policy reforms are necessary, including clearer worker classification, improved social protections, and strategies to ensure more stable incomes. By addressing these issues, the study aims to contribute to the development of a more balanced regulatory framework in Malaysia’s gig economy, promoting both innovation and the well-being of gig workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Silvia Devita Syahril, 2025. "Determining the Assurance of Rights and Interests for Gig Workers in the Malaysian Ride-Hailing Industry: A Strategic Analysis for Sustained Industry Participation," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(1), pages 2110-2123, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bcp:journl:v:9:y:2025:i:1:p:2110-2123
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/Digital-Library/volume-9-issue-1/2110-2123.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/articles/determining-the-assurance-of-rights-and-interests-for-gig-workers-in-the-malaysian-ride-hailing-industry-a-strategic-analysis-for-sustained-industry-participation/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Radosław Malik & Anna Visvizi & Małgorzata Skrzek-Lubasińska, 2021. "The Gig Economy: Current Issues, the Debate, and the New Avenues of Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.
    2. Zsolt Ződi & Bernát Török, 2021. "Constitutional Values in the Gig-Economy? Why Labor Law Fails at Platform Work, and What Can We Do about It?," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-16, July.
    3. Kuhn, Kristine M., 2016. "The Rise of the “Gig Economy” and Implications for Understanding Work and Workers," Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 157-162, March.
    4. Mark Graham & Isis Hjorth & Vili Lehdonvirta, 2017. "Digital labour and development: impacts of global digital labour platforms and the gig economy on worker livelihoods," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 23(2), pages 135-162, May.
    5. Uchiyama, Yosuke & Furuoka, Fumitaka & Md. Akhir, Md. Nasrudin, 2022. "Gig Workers, Social Protection and Labour Market Inequality: Lessons from Malaysia," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 56(3), pages 165-184.
    6. Elena Lyaskovskaya & Tatyana Khudyakova, 2021. "Sharing Economy: For or against Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-20, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Silvia Devita Syahril & Norzaidi Mohd Daud & Sutina Junos, 2024. "Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Sustained Engagement Among Gig Workers in the Malaysian Ride-Hailing Industry," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(8), pages 4081-4093, August.
    2. Meredith Dedema & Howard Rosenbaum, 2024. "Socio‐technical issues in the platform‐mediated gig economy: A systematic literature review: An Annual Review of Information Science and Technology (ARIST) paper," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 75(3), pages 344-374, March.
    3. Feng, Xinzhen & Zhou, Dequn & Hussain, Tufail, 2024. "An investigation of fintech governance, natural resources and government stability on sustainability: Policy suggestions under the SDGs theme," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    4. Helen Collins & Susan Barry & Piotr Dzuga, 2022. "‘Working While Feeling Awful Is Normal’: One Roma’s Experience of Presenteeism," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 36(2), pages 362-371, April.
    5. Izabela Jonek-Kowalska & Radosław Wolniak, 2022. "Sharing Economies’ Initiatives in Municipal Authorities’ Perspective: Research Evidence from Poland in the Context of Smart Cities’ Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-22, February.
    6. Christine Bischoff & Ken Kamoche & Geoffrey Wood, 2024. "The Formal and Informal Regulation of Labor in AI: The Experience of Eastern and Southern Africa," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 77(5), pages 825-835, October.
    7. Edoardo Beretta & Giulia Miniero & Francesco Ricotta, 2021. "Consumers’ Journey between Liquid and Solid Consumption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-20, December.
    8. Alexander Oluka, 2024. "The impact of digital platforms on traditional market structures," Technology audit and production reserves, PC TECHNOLOGY CENTER, vol. 2(4(76)), pages 21-29, April.
    9. Maj Grasten & Leonard Seabrooke & Duncan Wigan, 2023. "Legal affordances in global wealth chains: How platform firms use legal and spatial scaling," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 55(4), pages 1062-1079, June.
    10. Radduan Bin Yusof & Suhaimi Abd Samad & Azizan Zainuddin & Khairiyah Hj. Md Shahid & Erna Setijaningrum & Edmund Cheong, 2024. "Beyond the Ride: A PLS-SEM Analysis on the SKSPS Contribution Dynamics in Malaysian E-Hailing Odyssey," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(4), pages 1529-1544, April.
    11. Ahmad, Najid & Nguyen, Duc Khuong & Tian, Xian-Liang, 2024. "Assessing the impact of the sharing economy and technological innovation on sustainable development: An empirical investigation of the United Kingdom," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    12. Francesca Bellesia & Elisa Mattarelli & Fabiola Bertolotti, 2023. "Algorithms and their Affordances: How Crowdworkers Manage Algorithmic Scores in Online Labour Markets," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 1-37, January.
    13. Helwing Veronique & Verfürth Philip & Franz Martin, 2023. "Trucking (un)limited – the impact of digital platforms on labour in production networks of logistics," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 67(4), pages 177-188, December.
    14. Geert De Neve & Kaveri Medappa & Rebecca Prentice, 2023. "India’s Gig Economy Workers at the Time of Covid-19: An Introduction," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 18(3), pages 343-358, December.
    15. Kuttler, Tobias, 2024. "Urban mobilities in Mumbai: Towards worker-centric platformisation beyond ‘urban solutionism’," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue OnlineFir, pages 1-21.
    16. Bihary, Zsolt & Kerényi, Péter, 2020. "Haknigazdaság - egy dinamikus megbízó-ügynök modell [The gig economy: a dynamic principal-agent model]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(7), pages 748-761.
    17. Gleim, Mark R. & Johnson, Catherine M. & Lawson, Stephanie J., 2019. "Sharers and sellers: A multi-group examination of gig economy workers' perceptions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 142-152.
    18. Muhammad Safdar & Arshad Jamal & Hassan M. Al-Ahmadi & Muhammad Tauhidur Rahman & Meshal Almoshaogeh, 2022. "Analysis of the Influential Factors towards Adoption of Car-Sharing: A Case Study of a Megacity in a Developing Country," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-25, February.
    19. Ostoj Izabela, 2024. "Platform-mediated work in Poland: Worker characteristics and prevalence in society," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 60(2), pages 132-146.
    20. Ajeet Kumar Pankaj & Manish K. Jha, 2024. "Gig workers in precarious life: The trajectory of exploitation, insecurity, and resistance," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 83(5), pages 935-946, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bcp:journl:v:9:y:2025:i:1:p:2110-2123. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Dr. Pawan Verma (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.