Girard Mariano Lopezby Girard Mariano Lopez
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Photo Credit: Brian Hioe
PROMINENT TAIWANESE MEDTECH company Taidoc Technology Corporation has fired all leaders of its company-based union, all of whom are Filipino migrant workers in Taiwan. Such termination marks a major escalation in what workers describe as weeks of union crackdowns.
The Taidoc Technology Labor Union (TTLU) said that the dismissal came after workers publicly decried the termination of their union chairperson and called on authorities to intervene.
Within internal documents released by TTLU, the company accused union leaders of “colluding with outside groups” and “damaging the company’s reputation.”
Taidoc has also alleged that the workers violated their employment contracts and accused them of spreading information about what the company described as an “illegal strike.”
The union strongly condemned the mass dismissal, saying all leaders were terminated without justification.
Photo credit: Brian Hioe
TTLU said it has fully complied with the Labor Union Act and accused the company of committing serious legal violations through its actions.
“Targeting union leadership is union busting,” TTLU President Beth Basas said. “We will not accept intimidation, retaliation, or attempts to control our union.”
Labor activists have decried the dismissals as illegal and part of a broader pattern of union suppression from the company, which includes alleged surveillance of workers, coercive surveys, and pressure on employees to join a company-influenced union structure.
“This was intended to create a chilling effect on the employees present and keep them silent,” National Federation of Independent Trade Unions secretary-general Fang Zhang said.
Both the union and labor activists alike are calling on Taiwan’s labor ministry to intervene and freeze the company’s ability to hire additional migrant workers as investigations into alleged violations continue.
In response to receiving a renewed petition from TTLU, the labor ministry vowed an investigation into alleged company activity interfering with union operations, and said that if found guilty, Taidoc could face a fine of 100,000 NTD to 500,000 NTD.
Taidoc Denies Allegations, Accuses External Influence
IN A PUBLIC statement on Monday, Taidoc’s chairman denied wrongdoing and instead accused labor organization Serve the People Association’s Lennon Wang, who also serves as TTLU’s Secretary-General, of “damaging Taiwan’s industrial order, democratic processes, and financial markets”.
The chairman said the individual was not a company employee and had no legal qualification to participate in union operations, and alleged that external complaints filed against the company had led to repeated government inspections and penalties that harmed business operations. The company further called upon the government to raise a “national security” investigation into the background of Lennon Wang.
The company also disputed the legitimacy of the union’s strike vote, arguing that only 38 union members, out of nearly 1,000 employees, participated in the decision and alleging irregularities in the voting process.
Photos of messages received by TaiDoc workers
The chairman further claimed internal surveys showed low awareness of the strike among migrant workers and suggested the vote documentation may have been falsified. TTLU has rejected such claims and says that some union members purposefully denied knowing of the strike vote when answering the survey due to fear of retaliation if they are found to be members of the union. A member of TTLU also added that they were coerced into answering the survey.
Taidoc’s statement also added that union-linked actors are harming Taiwan’s industrial reputation and financial markets, and called on the government to investigate what it described as “coordinated actions targeting multiple technology firms.” This comes as allied organizations of TTLU have filed complaint materials to overseas clients.
Union leaders and labor groups have rejected the claim of “external influence” or “malignant intentions”, criticizing the company’s statement as part of a broader attempt to discredit worker organizing.
About Taidoc and Its Previous Labor Violations
THE TAIDOC TECHNOLOGY COMPANY, founded in 1998, is a Taiwan-based manufacturer of medical devices, including blood glucose monitors, blood pressure monitors, thermometers, and diagnostic testing products sold globally. The company has been publicly promoted as a major player in Taiwan’s medical technology sector and pandemic response supply chains, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, labor unions and rights groups have accused the company of illegal practices, including pregnancy discrimination against migrant workers, restrictive dormitory rules, unreasonable management regulations, and excessive recruitment and brokerage fees that allegedly created conditions of debt bondage.
Previous control of the movements of migrant workers included roll calls and requirements to upload nightly photos to prove presence inside housing facilities.
Photo credit: Brian Hioe
Most controversial of such management regulations was the “cleaning punishment”, where minor misdemeanors such as failure to send nightly photos inside housing facilities or arriving late to work or the dorm could mean either three to thirty days of required cleaning of production line facilities without compensation and outside of working hours.
Such practices were temporarily abolished upon the victory of the union during arbitration with the labor ministry.
Escalation of Taidoc Management’s Crackdown on the Union
SHORTLY AFTER arbitration meetings between the union and the company, Filipino migrant workers from Taidoc recounted increasing incidents of company pressure on the union, which included factory-wide surveys asking employees about union activities, individual interrogations of union officers, and anonymous internal messages accusing union leaders of illegal organizing. Labor activists also alleged the company mobilized pro-management employees to mass-apply for union membership to gain control of the organization.
“They tried to flood the union with management-aligned members to weaken our demands and control the union from the inside,” TTLU Director Joanna Rose De Los Santos said.
In late January, workers say that the company spread internal messages blaming union protests for reduced bonuses, despite the payments being determined by a welfare committee the union said is currently dominated by management.
Labor groups have also previously alleged that the company required migrant workers to pay high broker fees and imposed rules restricting personal freedom while discouraging union organizing. Authorities have reportedly issued warnings over possible labor law breaches, though investigations remain ongoing.
Letter dismissing union officers. Photo credit: TTLU/Facebook
In the latest dispute, the union said company management organized an internal assembly attended by representatives from political offices, including that of DPP legislator Su Chiao-Hui, and declared that workers had joined the union after being pressured to sign membership forms. The union said more than 100 applications were delivered to the union in a single batch afterward.
Following those allegations, TTLU released a subsequent statement citing a clarification letter from the legislator’s office. The office said a special assistant who attended the Taidoc event stated they were not aware the company had invited them to witness what the union described as management-directed efforts to pressure employees into joining the union. The assistant reportedly declined to sign as a witness during the event and also intervened when Taidoc supervisors chanted campaign slogans supporting the legislator’s potential New Taipei mayoral bid.
The union has called on three additional New Taipei City councilor offices whose staff were also reportedly present at the event to issue their own clarifications, saying political offices should not become tools of what it described as illegal anti-union actions by company management.
Aftermath
LABOR ACTIVISTS say the firing of Basas and other union leaders represents retaliation for protected labor activity. They added that they will continue aiding the union in pursuing legal challenges to the dismissals and continue labor actions if authorities fail to act.
“Taidoc’s management is completely lawless and a disgrace to Taiwan,” Lennon Wang said. “Taidoc sets the worst example for modern enterprises.”
The union, along with allied labor and human rights organizations, said they are prepared to escalate protests if regulators do not intervene. They also warn that the case could set a precedent for how corporations treat union organizing and migrant labor rights across Taiwan.