Spirit of International Labor Day 1.5

May 1st International Workers' Day is a day of celebration and action for the global workers' and laborers' movement. The history of May 1st International Workers' Day originated in Chicago, a famous industrial city in the United States. In 1886, in Chicago, the American Federation of Labor Congress passed a resolution: "From May 1st, 1886, the working day for all workers will be 8 hours." May 1st, the upcoming May 1st International Workers' Day, is also a time to rest, and then return to work with enthusiasm and creativity, like the immortal and everlasting spirit of this special holiday.

President Ho Chi Minh attended the International Labor Day celebration on May 1, 1955. Photo: VNA archive

The Birth of International Workers' Day

On May 1, 1886, workers across the United States went on strike to force their employers to meet their demands. It began with a strike in Chicago, with about forty thousand workers refusing to go to work. They held rallies and demonstrations throughout the city with the slogan: "From today on, no worker will work more than eight hours a day! Eight hours of work, eight hours of rest, eight hours of play!"

The strike is attracting a growing number of participants. On the same day, in other industrial centers in the US, there were 5,000 strikes, with 340,000 workers participating. In cities such as Washington, New York, Baltimore, Boston..., more than 125,000 workers won the right to work 8 hours a day.

However, the protests were violently suppressed. Factories fired striking workers, hired workers from other areas, and used violence and police to suppress them. The clashes resulted in many casualties, with hundreds of workers killed or injured, and many union leaders arrested. The tragic event at Haymarket in 1886 in Chicago, USA, resulted in the deaths of four people, more than 70 injured, and more than 100 arrested. However, in the end, factory owners had to accept the workers' demands.

Three years after the tragic events in Chicago, on June 20, 1889, the Second Congress of the Communist International was held in Paris, France. Under the leadership of Friedrich Engels, this congress decided to choose May 1 every year as a day to commemorate the strength and common struggle of the proletariat around the world .

May 1 is considered a day to celebrate achievements, to demonstrate determination to complete new tasks and to show solidarity with workers of other countries. May 1 is also celebrated as a day to honor the workforce and the struggle for peace , democracy and social progress.

The revolutionary movement in our country is associated with May 1st.

Since the 1920s, leader Nguyen Ai Quoc (Ho Chi Minh) has actively spread Marxism-Leninism in Vietnam through his works. These works have helped Vietnamese workers better understand the communist, workers and trade union movements around the world. May 1st is related to revolutionary struggles at home and abroad.

On May 1, 1925, workers in Cho Lon, Di An Railway and Da Nang demonstrated to express their will to defend the Soviet Union. Workers at the Ba Son Shipyard in Saigon went on strike in August 1925 to demand higher wages and to support the Shanghai workers' movement in China. These first struggles marked the combination of proletarian internationalism and patriotism, marking a milestone in the development of the Vietnamese workers' movement, moving from spontaneous to conscious.

The revolutionary climax in the years 1930 - 1931 began with the struggle taking place on May 1, 1930. Many places across the country, from North to South, hung the Party flag, organized rallies and marches to demonstrate power. Under the leadership of the Party and the mobilization of the Red Trade Union, workers and peasants held rallies to celebrate International Labor Day on May 1, expressing solidarity with workers around the world and fighting for their rights. This was the first time the working class and working people nationwide united in the struggle to demonstrate the invincible strength and extraordinary determination of the worker-peasant alliance.

Notably, at the Truong Thi Railway Factory, the Sawmill and the Ben Thuy Match Factory (Nghe An), thousands of workers and farmers in the suburbs demanded an 8-hour workday and tax reduction. The struggle of 4,000 workers at the Nam Dinh Textile Factory for 21 arduous days also contributed to the nationwide revolutionary movement led by the Party.

The revolutions from 1936 to 1939, the period of the Indochinese Democratic Front and International Labor Day were all organized publicly, especially the rally held on May 1, 1938 at the Hanoi Exhibition School, now the Vietnam - Soviet Union Friendship Labor Culture Palace. The rally started at 4:00 p.m. on May 1, 1938, but by noon, participants had flooded the streets. In total, there were over 25,000 people from 25 different groups. The strength of the working people was demonstrated in the largest rally in the democratic movement.

After gaining independence, President Ho Chi Minh signed Decree No. 22c.NV.CC on February 18, 1946, considering May 1 as one of the official national holidays. Decree No. 56 of President Ho Chi Minh was signed on April 29, 1946, stipulating that workers were entitled to pay on International Labor Day (May 1). May 1, 1946 was the first International Labor Day in the history of our country. 200,000 workers attended a solemn rally to celebrate this day in Hanoi. President Ho Chi Minh read the appeal: “To the people of the whole country! To the working people! May 1st is a common holiday for workers all over the world. It is a very profound meaning of solidarity. In our country, this is the first time that our people, our working people, are free to celebrate May 1st. Therefore, it has a special and even deeper meaning. For us, it is a day to show the world that this day is not only a Labor Day, but also a day of national solidarity. Unity to maintain freedom and democracy. Unity to build the country. Unity to build a new life.”

Today, during 38 years of renovation, along with the development of the country, the Vietnamese working class has increased in quantity and quality in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland. Workers have quickly accessed advanced science and technology, gradually taking on the mastery of high technology and techniques.

According to laodong.vn

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