TSMC Construction Incidents Trigger Petition as Labor Groups Urge Fund Oversight

Labor rights groups and families of victims petitioned Taiwan's Executive Yuan on November 3, 2026, following a major fall accident at TSMC's Kaohsiung Nanzih plant construction site that claimed four workers' lives. The groups stated that TSMC-related projects have seen 15 workplace incidents resulting in 19 fatalities since 2019. Given that four major government funds invest in TSMC, they demanded an inter-fund oversight and stewardship mechanism covering incident reporting and contractor management. An Executive Yuan representative accepted the petition and promised inter-agency review. Regarding the Nanzih project, the Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau indicated preliminary findings point to bolt fatigue and noted that resumption of work will depend on joint reviews with safety authorities regarding contractor improvement plans, alongside legal penalties.

Key takeaways

• Labor groups petitioned the Executive Yuan, reporting 15 workplace incidents resulting in 19 deaths across TSMC projects since 2019, including a 4-fatality fall accident at the Kaohsiung Nanzih site in October.
• The groups urged the four major government funds holding TSMC shares to initiate reviews within 7 days of major accidents and engage in corporate dialogue within 30 days regarding contractor management.
• The Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau stated initial findings linked the incident to bolt fatigue, requiring contractor improvement reviews with labor inspectors before approving resumption, in addition to legal penalties.