International Labor Day is organized associated with the "Workers' Month" activity
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan - Member of the Party Central Committee, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL) reviewed the history of International Labor Day May 1.
According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, in the late 19th century, in the United States and Western capitalist countries, workers had to work from 14-18 hours a day in terrible working conditions. Women and many children had to work hard with very low wages and almost no days off.
Faced with severe exploitation by employers and exhausted labor, on May 1, 1886, in Chicago (USA), nearly 40,000 workers went on strike, taking to the streets to fight with the slogan "From today, no worker works more than 8 hours a day! Must work 8 hours, 8 hours of rest, 8 hours of fun!".
Although the struggle was bloodily repressed, it attracted strong responses from workers across the United States and many countries around the world. The slogan "8-hour working day" became the common voice of global workers, forcing governments of many countries to issue regulations on 8 hours working days.
To express gratitude for the sacrifices and recognize the achievements that workers in Chicago and many countries around the world have achieved, on July 14, 1889, the Second International Confederation Congress decided to take May 1 every year as the day of solidarity and struggle of workers around the world - International Labor Day.
In Vietnam, the spirit of International Labor Day was soon spread by leader Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh, harmonizing with patriotism, igniting the will to fight for national liberation and class liberation. From the historic strike of Ba Son - Saigon workers in 1925 to the birth of the Red Trade Union of Bac Ky in 1929 (the predecessor organization of the current Vietnam Trade Union), especially the birth of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1930, marked the combination of Vietnamese patriotism with proletarian internationalism, a significant shift of the workers' movement from spontaneous to conscious, bringing the Vietnamese working class to become a pioneering political force, organized, idealistic and with the mission of leading the country's revolution.
During the period of democracy movement (1936 - 1939), International Labor Day was held publicly, typically the rally on May 1, 1938 with more than 25,000 participants at the Hanoi Exhibition Area, now the Vietnam - Soviet Friendship Labor Cultural Palace, where we are gathering today - a demonstration of great strength, showing the strong fighting spirit of the working class and working people.
After the country gained independence, in 1946, President Ho Chi Minh signed a Decree stipulating May 1st as the official holiday of our country, the day workers are entitled to paid leave.
Since then, International Labor Day in Vietnam has always been organized solemnly and is even more meaningful when the entire Party, people, and army organize it associated with the anniversary of the Liberation of the South, national reunification on April 30.
From the immortal spirit of International Labor Day May 1st, 2012, at the proposal of the VGCL, the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee agreed in principle to take May every year as "Workers' Month".
Since then, in Vietnam, International Labor Day has been organized in association with "Workers' Month" activities, becoming a peak period of caring for the lives of workers, arousing the spirit of solidarity, emulation for good labor, creative labor, building harmonious, stable, and progressive labor relations; strengthening the leadership of Party committees, enhancing the responsibility of the government in building the working class, contributing to the development of the country.
This year's Workers' Month is very special as for the first time in 15 years of organization, it has been directed by General Secretary, President To Lam, the Secretariat, the Politburo, and 21 Politburo members, the Secretariat spent time visiting, encouraging, and giving gifts to union members and workers in 34 provinces and cities across the country" - Chairman of the VGCL shared.
According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, the spirit of International Labor Day in Vietnam has truly gone beyond the scope of demanding immediate rights to become a sense of responsibility for the nation's destiny.
From the aspiration "8 hours working day" to the aspiration for independence and unity, the Vietnamese working class both fought for its own interests and shouldered the mission of the nation. Therefore, the spirit of International Labor in Vietnam is not only the spirit of solidarity and struggle of workers but also a symbol of the will to rise up to build and protect the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland.
The Vietnamese working class is constantly growing in both quantity and quality
Nurtured from the spirit of International Labor and the Vietnamese patriotic movement, since stepping onto the political stage, the Vietnamese working class has continuously grown stronger in both quantity and quality, affirming its role as a revolutionary leading class through the vanguard team of the Communist Party of Vietnam; the pioneering and core force in the cause of industrialization, modernization, and national development.
Along with that process, the Vietnam Trade Union - a large mass organization of the working class and laborers, has been established and has played a good role in gathering, uniting, and building an increasingly modern and strong working class; representing, caring for, and protecting the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of union members and laborers; launching and implementing patriotic emulation movements, directly contributing to the socio-economic development of the country" - Chairman of the VGCL said.
VGCL President Nguyen Anh Tuan said that promoting the spirit of fighting to protect the rights of workers from 140 years ago, today, the Trade Union organization, especially grassroots trade union officials, is implementing many practical and effective solutions to protect the rights of workers, in which dialogue and collective bargaining are emphasized, which are the main activities of trade unions in enterprises.
Through substantive dialogue, employees (through representatives of the Trade Union organization) and employers listen to each other's opinions, enhance understanding and trust in each other; resolve issues arising in labor relations quickly and effectively; protect the legitimate rights and interests of employees; promote harmonious, stable and progressive labor relations.
Collective negotiation, as a result, a collective labor agreement is signed to increase benefits and welfare for workers, which are salaries, bonuses, overtime, meals, working conditions, and other supports, helping to improve workers' lives. Dialogue and negotiation therefore become a very difficult task for trade union officials because it is very in-depth, requiring the bravery, capacity, and working methods of trade union officials, and in fact, the relationship between employers and trade union officials is always in a difficult position to balance.
Difficult as it is, in recent years, under the direction of the Presidium of the VGCL, trade union levels have implemented many solutions to promote dialogue and collective bargaining activities. Since then, tens of thousands of collective labor agreements have been signed, and the rights of millions of union members and workers have been increased.
That result was achieved thanks to the efforts to overcome difficulties, bravery, intelligence, responsibility, and enthusiasm of the team of grassroots trade union officials, first of all the grassroots trade union chairmen.
Today, in the solemn atmosphere of the 140th anniversary of International Labor Day, the Presidium of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor organized the commendation of 101 outstanding grassroots trade union presidents of the whole country, selected from 127 typical examples proposed by local and industry trade unions, by an objective, serious, and responsible working council.
Among them, there are 68 male comrades, 33 female comrades; average age 53.5 years old; the oldest is 75 years old, the youngest is 32 years old.
100% of collective labor agreements are negotiated and signed by grassroots trade union leaders, with content higher than legal regulations, ensuring the rights of more than 382 thousand union members and workers.
On behalf of the Presidium of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, President Nguyen Anh Tuan warmly praised and congratulated the outstanding and typical grassroots trade union presidents who have been selected and commended by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour at today's solemn ceremony.
140 years have passed since the fire of struggle of workers flared up in Chicago, marking a glorious milestone in the history of human development, and to this day the spirit of International Labor Day remains intact.
Today, that sacred flame is continuing to ignite the desire to conquer the goal of double-digit growth and build a peaceful, independent, democratic, prosperous, civilized, and happy country of tens of thousands of trade union officials and millions of union members and workers in Vietnam.
On this occasion, VGCL President Nguyen Anh Tuan called on each trade union official, brothers, sisters, and workers to continue to promote the spirit of International Labor Day, promote the glorious tradition of the Vietnamese working class, constantly learn, train, improve political bravery, qualifications, professional skills, promote initiatives, technical innovations, improve labor productivity, and move towards mastering science and technology.
Each trade union official, especially grassroots trade union officials, needs to better perform the function of representing, caring for, and protecting the rights of workers, focusing on dialogue and collective bargaining...
VGCL President Nguyen Anh Tuan reiterated the advice of General Secretary and President To Lam in his talk with workers in Ho Chi Minh City on April 27: Trade union officials must be closer to workers, understand workers better, speak the voice of workers and practically protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of workers.
According to VGCL President Nguyen Anh Tuan, when implementing the advice of General Secretary and President To Lam, the Trade Union organization continues to be worthy of being a reliable support for union members and workers to strive to contribute to building a strong and prosperous Vietnam, firmly advancing into a new era.
