Employment Dispute Program for Refugees in Malaysia (EDP)

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The Employment Dispute Program (EDP) has evolved from raising awareness to refugee communities on labour rights, to a refugee-for-refugee model with trained refugee community advocates conducting capacity building and case management for their community. Now, with the support of the Ockenden International Prize, we will continue to ensure refugees in Malaysia are able to access justice and fairer working conditions. We're deeply grateful to Ockenden International for seeing our work and joining us in this journey to empower refugee communities to be self-reliant at both the individual and community level.

Lisa D'Annunzio

Interim Co-CEO

What the judges said

The judges commended the ‘‘Employment Dispute Program for Refugees in Malaysia’ project for its “tight focus in very harsh conditions on refugee rights and legal protection for migrant workers vulnerable to exploitation because of their refugee status.” The project provides specialised legal and employment advice “challenging the lack of legal protection for workers who are highly vulnerable to people trafficking in Malaysia or deportation,” they said. The refugee advocates, often at great personal risk, play an important role in safeguarding the rights of these refugees,” they added.

What beneficiaries say

“I went to the labour department to file a complaint but I was told that I cannot get help because I don’t have a work visa . . . I felt helpless, I went everywhere, labour department, police, etc . . . but no one can help me because I’m a refugee here. I started feeling depressed and sad, and I wanted to give up, until my community leader told me about Asylum Access and the work they do for refugees who were denied human rights, so I contacted them . . . I’m so grateful to the judge, but more grateful to AAM staff and lawyers who gave me hope to fight for my right. I had faith in God and in humanity, and faith in the lawyers and Asylum Access staff, thank you all for standing with me.”– EDP client who won unpaid wages

“We as equitable partners must keep believing and working towards refugees being able to live dignified lives. The legal battle for refugee rights is an uphill battle that most of the time feels like we’re taking one step forward and two steps back but as long as we’re able to continue building a strong momentum with the communities and not lose hope, we may one day conquer this uphill battle.” – Audrey, Employment Dispute Programme Coordinator for Asylum Access Malaysia

“Looking back on what we have achieved, I truly believe we are making a meaningful impact in our communities through the Employment Dispute program, successfully recovering RM 124,799 in compensation for clients in 2024 alone.” – Jaw, Community Outreach Coordinator for Asylum Access Malaysia

“I am very satisfied with the employment dispute service. I can tell that because I know the support and the process fully well.” – feedback from community member 1

“There are cases that settled well like our member injured from an accident but managed to get compensation and compromising between employer and worker for unpaid salary cases.” – feedback from community member 2

Social Media

The ED program that Jaw, the Community Outreach Coordinator (above), presented to the UNHCR
Al Jazeera feature
Refugee Worker Wins in Battle for Fair Wages!
EDP Instagram posts
https://www.instagram.com/p/CxXnSZYpH4a/?img_index=1
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cyzm_W3JtC_/?img_index=1
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cyznb-lpGgH/

The other 2025 winners and finalists

Ockenden International’s five cash prizes recognise and reward innovative projects that deliver evidential self-reliance to refugees and/or displaced people, the cornerstone of Ockenden International since its inception as the Ockenden Venture in 1951. The five cash prizes are open to projects or programmes focused on Internally Displaced People (IDPs)/refugee self-reliance anywhere in the world. The other eight 2025 global prize contenders (with the other four winners italicised) were:

Alsama Project, UK, won for its ‘Secondary Education Centres’ programs in the Shatila and Bourj el-Barajneh Refugee Camps, Beirut, which support Syrian and Palestinian children refugees living in Lebanon.
Avocats Sans Frontièrs France, nominated by I Have Rights e.V., Germany, for the ‘Samos Legal Centre’ project, which provides independent and much-needed free legal support to refugees in their quests to obtain the guaranteed right to seek asylum on one of the world’s refugee frontlines, Samos Island, Greece.
Eurocoop Servizi, Italy, ‘Jungi Mundu’ – ‘Join the World’ (in the local Italian dialect), a project based on social entrepreneurship in arts, crafts, gastronomy and hospitality that’s been the salvation of Camini, once an abandoned Calabrian village, as well as its population of refugees.
KASAPI, Greece, which means ‘Unity of Filipino Migrants in Greece' has been nominated by the Melissa Network, for its intercultural centre and associated programs for migrant and refugee children called ‘Munting Nayon’ (Little Village) run by the Filipino community focused on integration of children in the Greek society.
Let’s Be Transformed (MAGUFINA), Malawi, nominated by AREDO (Ability of Refugee Disability Organization) Malawi, won for the project ‘Transforming Lives Through Technology: Mobile Phone Repair Training and Enterprise Development Program for Refugees with Disabilities’.
Nest Global, Tijuana, Mexico's program, ‘Nest Tijuana: Empowering Asylum-Seeking Families through Early Childhood Education and Holistic Support’, which won for its provision of free pre-school education and comprehensive support to displaced children and their families sheltering at one of Tijuana’s largest migrant shelters.
Terre des Hommes Foundation Moldova's project ‘Addressing basic needs and improving resilience of children, youth, and mothers affected by the Ukrainian refugee crisis living in Moldova’, whose primary goal is to reduce vulnerability and enhance resilience among children, youth, and mothers affected by the Ukrainian refugee crisis in Moldova, including the most vulnerable members of host communities, by providing individualized support and broader assistance in collaboration with local actors.
TUMO Center for Creative Technologies (Armenia) for its comprehensive educational empowerment, mentorship and post-war rehabilitation project called ‘TUMO for Artsakh Teens (T4AT)’, for the children of displaced families from Nagorno Karabakh following the forced displacement of its Armenian population in September 2023.

The three organizations (in alphabetical order) and their projects, short listed for new UK Prize, were:

Happy Baby Community (HBC), Greater London (and Crawley, Surrey), won for its ‘Starting Well’ project for pregnant women and mothers with children under three-years of age who have fled war, violence and trafficking to seek asylum in the UK.
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum, UK’s ‘Voices of Refuge’ project, an ethical interpreting company. It trains refugees and asylum seekers all over the world, who have English language knowledge, in basic interpreting skills. It provides well paid, supported and trained interpreters to service providers for refugees and other vulnerable migrants in the East Midlands and beyond. It provides employment opportunities within those communities and helps people into work. Voices in Refuge is a CIC wholly owned by Nottingham Refugee Forum, which provides a wide range of services to refugees and asylum seekers, and any profits made go straight from its interpreting business, go straight back into those services.
Refugee Education UK, in partnership with Student Action for Refugees, a country-wide online project entitled ‘The Displaced Students' Opportunities Portal’, a single portal for university scholarships and placements which helps refugees rebuild their lives through higher education by providing easy access to accurate information, guidance and opportunities for progression to and pathways through higher education.