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ndonesia will resume sending its migrant workers to Malaysia in April if both countries agree on standards of competence and monthly payments.

“We will resume the labor supply after we receive assurances from Malaysia on several crucial issues, such as monthly payments, cost structures and standards of competence. Both sides will have to monitor one another to ensure the protection of migrant workers,” Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said in Jakarta on Friday.

Indonesia announced a moratorium on June 26, 2009, following an increasing number of abuses against its workers in the neighboring country.

A joint task force from both countries met on Thursday and agreed on a 200-hour competence training program as required by Malaysia, and a demand by Indonesia to set the monthly minimum wage between 600 and 800 Malaysian ringgit (US$197 and $262), a significant increase from the rate of 400 ringgit prior to the suspension.

The Malaysian delegation, led by Dato Sheikh Yahya Mohamed, demanded all workers undergo a 200-hour training program prior to starting their contracts in four core jobs: housemaids, cooks, babysitters and carers for the elderly.

The Indonesian Manpower and Transmigration Ministry’s director general for overseas labor placement, Reyna Usman, said Indonesian workers would enjoy one day off every week and a maximum of 12 working hours per day.

They would also earn 108 ringgit per day’s overtime if they worked on their day off, she added.

Indonesia lifted the moratorium on labor to Malaysia in November 2011, after both governments signed a new labor agreement on Indonesian workers’ rights in Malaysia.

However, Malaysian newspaper The Star reported on Sunday that the “one maid, one task” ruling had caused an uproar in Malaysia, with the associations for both agents and employers now wanting to know whether the Malaysian officials had agreed to it, and if so, why.

“Reyna made the announcement and the meeting then moved on to other matters,” The Star quoted an Indonesian participant, who asked not to be identified.

The Association of Foreign Maid Agencies’ (Papa) acting president, Jeffrey Foo, said Malaysian officials should explain what transpired at the meeting. “If our officials agreed to it, they should explain it to us.”

Malaysian Maid Employers’ Association (Mama) president Engku Ahmad Fauzi Engku Muhsein concurred, saying: “There are many doubts that need to be cleared up. We want to know what really happened at the meeting.”

Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak expressed his surprise over the new conditions for sending maids to Malaysia.

Najib said, as quoted by The Star, that what was announced by Indonesia’s Labor Placement Development director-general Dr. Reyna Usman, was “not reasonable at all”.

“We hope on their side, they will revert to the agreement reached between myself and the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono [on this issue],” he said.

Late last week, Malaysian Human Resources Minister S. Subramaniam said Indonesia’s latest statement was not in line with the understanding reached by the two nations.

Commenting on a report from Jakarta, which said that maids would only perform one type of work, Subramaniam said that representatives from both countries would meet in Jakarta to resolve the matter.