bout 100 Bangladeshi workers who were employed by Malaysian companies rallied Monday to demand unpaid wages, fair compensation and an end to alleged abuse by Malaysian employers.

The Migrant Welfare Network, a Bangladeshi migrant group based in Malaysia and Bangladesh, organized the protest at the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka.

The demonstrators said the event was organized to protest what they say is widespread mistreatment of migrant workers in Malaysia, one of Southeast Asia's richest nations. They demanded unpaid wages and compensation for 431 Bangladeshi workers they said were exploited by two Malaysian companies, Mediceram and Kawaguchi Manufacturing.

The Associated Press could not immediately reach the companies for comment.

Many factories in Malaysia and other Southeast Asia countries rely on migrant workers, often from Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal, to fill labor-intensive jobs in manufacturing, plantations or construction. Local workers usually avoid such jobs because of their poor conditions and low wages.

The Migrant Welfare Network urged Bangladeshi and Malaysian authorities and international buyers to take immediate action to ensure workers receive wages already owed, fair compensation and “justice for systemic abuses.”

The group said in statement Monday that a complaint claiming forced labor and neglect has been filed with the Malaysian government against Australian company Ansell…