Taidoc Technology Labor Union (TTLU) members protested at the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), the Philippine consulate in Taiwan, to denounce the agency’s open collusion with Taidoc Technology in union-busting. Labor, migrant, and youth organizations joined the action on March 15.

According to the union, Taidoc has defied warnings from the Ministry of Labor and is still continuing with its violent campaign to suppress the union. MECO officials have repeatedly met with union leaders in recent months. The agency returned to conduct an “interview” with migrant workers last week where they frightened workers by telling them that the company will close if the union’s protest continued.

MECO issued a letter to the company and the Ministry of Labor on March 10, supposedly based on its interviews with the workers. The letter vilified union members and claimed that the company had not violated workers’ rights. MECO also accused the union of damaging the company’s reputation and affecting employees’ job security. It further claimed that the union was destroying the image of Filipino workers among companies in Taiwan. The letter was signed by Gina Lim, a MECO case officer and a well-known figure in the Filipino community in Taipei who opposes groups that advocate for workers’ and migrants’ rights such as Migrante and the Serve the People Association.

“When the company trampled on our dignity, we sought help last month from MECO, and were told to ‘just resign,’” TTLU director Joana Rose said.

According to Migrante Taiwan, MECO’s scheme of colluding with Taiwanese companies is nothing new. The group said the agency more often takes the side of the companies rather than that of the Filipino workers. The group also revealed that the agency tried in 2015 to have several members of Migrante Taiwan deported because the group stood up for migrants’ rights.

“MECO is showing its long history of suppressing workers’ struggles… You cannot deport the truth and you cannot erase our call for justice,” Migrante Taiwan chairperson Gilda Banugan said.

TTLU called on MECO to stop violating Taiwan’s labor laws. “If MECO cannot protect us, we will ourselves protect one another through our union,” Joanna said.

The union is also demanding that MECO withdraw the letter it issued and that its officials explain their collusion with Taidoc. The agency must clarify whether this collusion with the company is its official mandate. The group also wants the agency to issue a formal apology to the union, to all migrant workers, and to the government of Taiwan, to punish the officials who violated the law, and to vow that it will no longer interfere in the union.