Issues Blowing Hundreds Of Eijkman Researchers Dismissed, Head Of BRIN: Not True!

Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Laksana Tri Handoko (Photo via BRIN)

JAKARTA - Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Laksana Tri Handoko denied the information that researchers at the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology (LBME) had been dismissed. This news circulated after the management of the institution was transferred to BRIN.

"The information is not true," said Laksana in his statement to reporters quoted on Sunday, January 2.

Laksana explained that Eijkman is not an official government agency. The institution was a project unit at the Ministry of Research and Technology (Kemenristek) before it was merged with the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud).

"This has caused research civil servants at LBME not to be appointed as full researchers and have the same status as administrative staff," he said.

However, these researchers can later be appointed as researchers with all their financial rights. The reason is that LBME has been institutionalized as an official work unit under the Life Sciences Research Organization and changed its name to the Eijkman Center for Molecular Biology Research.

This change was made due to the integration of the Ministry of Research and Technology and 4 LPNK into BRIN on September 1, 2021.

Even so, it was later discovered that LBME recruited many honorary workers without following the applicable regulations. "For this reason, BRIN has provided several options according to their respective statuses," said Laksana.

The following options are provided by BRIN for researchers at LBME:

1. Researcher PNS: continued to be BRIN Civil Servant and also appointed as Researcher.2. Honorary Researcher over 40 years of age and doctoral degree: following the admission of ASN in the 2021.3 PPPK pathway. Honorary Researcher aged less than 40 years and S3: following the admission of ASN in the PNS 2021.4 pathway. Non-S3 Researcher Honorary: continuing studies with a by-research and research assistantship (RA) scheme. While those who are not interested in continuing their studies, there are those who continue as lab operators in Cibinong.5. Non-Researcher Honorary: RSCM was taken over as well as following the plan to transfer the LBME building to the RSCM at the request of the Ministry of Health, which had the assets from the start.

"So it is true that there is a process of dismissal as LBME employees, but most of them are transferred or adjusted according to the various schemes above to comply with regulations as government institutions," explained Laksana.

Meanwhile, regarding the circulation of information that there were honorariums at the institution who were dismissed, they did not receive severance pay, Laksana said this was in accordance with regulations. After all, that provision is also contained in their contract.

"According to regulations, honorariums in government institutions are always based on annual contracts, and must be dismissed at the end of the fiscal year. And of course there is no severance pay. If there is severance pay, it is against the law," he said.

"In addition, with the integration of the five existing entities, of course we cannot recruit all of them again. Because a lot of work that was previously carried out by five teams is now one and of course only one team is needed," he concluded.