I’m surprised that your HR ETL was so bluntly straightforward about it, but the fact that HR is there to protect Target is the plain unvarnished truth. Anything that HR does that benefits the TMs is either incidental to their main objective or purely coincidental, but that an HR ETL would be as honest about it as yours was is truly shocking. Letting that particular cat out of the bag really destroys the carefully crafted illusion that HR is there to help the TMs.
It’s not necessarily the individual HR ETL’s fault, however, and some do the best they can to help TMs, but it’s the nature of the job to protect Target’s best interests, not the TMs. Your HR ETL doesn’t appear to be one of those who cares to step up to help TMs at all and whose attitude and big mouth aren’t protecting Spot’s illusions all that well either.