Vinh - Ben Thuy workers
in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement

The Nghe Tinh Soviet was a world-shaking revolution of our people under the leadership of the Party. For the first time in the history of our country, the Soviet government was established in many places in the two provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh.

To make that miracle, there were contributions from many classes of people, including the Vinh - Ben Thuy workers, one of the key forces, playing an important role in deciding the success or failure of the movement.

After completing the invasion of Vietnam, the French colonialists carried out large-scale colonial exploitation. Nghe Tinh was a land rich in resources and had a convenient transportation network, so French capitalists focused on exploiting it at a rapid pace.

Before 1900, French colonialists had seized land in the Upper Yen Dung area, building a series of factories in Vinh-Ben Thuy such as Vinh Wood Factory (1900), Lao Xien Sawmill Factory (1903), Ben Thuy Match Factory (1908), Truong Thi Train Repair Factory (1908)...

The development of industry, agriculture, and capitalist commerce transformed the face of Vinh-Ben Thuy province. Dozens of large and small factories and hundreds of shops of French, Indian, Chinese, and native bourgeoisie sprang up.

After World War I, the French colonialists paid more attention to investing in Vinh-Ben Thuy. Large factories were established one after another such as Sifa Company, Ca Xatanh Factory, Sova Wine Factory, Canned Fish Factory, etc.

The impoverished farmers who lost their land had to work in factories, selling their labor to support themselves. Invisibly, the colonial exploitation policy of the French colonialists created a large, concentrated workforce in Vinh-Ben Thuy. This was one of the core, pioneering forces that made the revolutionary movement in Nghe Tinh successful.

Since 1925, the patriotic movement in Nghe Tinh in general and Vinh-Ben Thuy in particular had a clear change through the activities of organizations such as Tan Viet and Thanh Nien. Many struggles to demand salary increases, reduce working hours, and fight against fines and beatings by workers broke out continuously.

The strong development of the Vinh - Ben Thuy workers' movement influenced farmers, students and other classes, creating a wave of struggle with the coordination of many classes. After the Communist Party of Vietnam was born (February 3, 1930), the Central Region Party Committee was also quickly established, with comrade Nguyen Phong Sac as Secretary.

Under the light of the resolution of the Regional Party Committee, the Nghe An Provincial Party Committees were established one after another, from here the workers' movement entered a new phase, the phase of struggle under the leadership of the Party. The beginning of the struggle movement of Vinh - Ben Thuy workers under the leadership of the Party was the struggle on March 1, 1930 of Thai Hop Sawmill workers protesting against the foreman who had beaten and fired 3 workers. Under the pressure of the struggle, the factory owner was forced to fire the foreman and accept the workers back to work.

On March 15, 1930, workers at the Alcohol Factory and the Lao-Xien Sawmill united to fight, demanding a 3 cent daily wage increase, forcing the factory owner to make concessions. Those struggles were the signal shots that opened the period of fierce struggle in Nghe Tinh.

The climax was the struggle on the morning of May 1, on the occasion of International Labor Day. Under the leadership of the Vinh-Ben Thuy Provincial Party Committee, headed by comrade Le Mao, workers from factories in Vinh-Ben Thuy coordinated with farmers from Yen Dung, Loc Da, Duc Thinh, An Hau, and Song villages to demonstrate and demand wage increases and tax reductions.

When the masses descended on the Ben Thuy area, the workers in the factories quit their jobs, but the French colonialists locked the factory doors and assigned soldiers with guns to stand guard. Only a few workers climbed over the factory walls and coordinated with the farmers to fight. Frightened by the strength of the workers and farmers, the French guard turned his gun on the protesters, killing 7 people, injuring 18, and arresting 97 people.

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This struggle has the meaning: "For the first time in the history of our country's revolution, workers, farmers and soldiers joined hands in the middle of the battle."

Then, on May 10 and 12, 1930, workers at the Ben Thuy Match Factory, Sawmill and porters at Ben Thuy Port went on strike to demand higher wages and reduced working hours.

On May 31, 1930, workers at the Truong Thi Railway Repair Factory protested and marched to the town chief's house to demand a pay raise and an 8-hour work day...

In June 1930, the workers' movement continued to grow strongly. On June 15, workers at the Thai Hop Sawmill protested. On June 18, owners of motels in the city submitted a petition to the Vinh Governor to reduce the business tax.

On June 27, 1930, workers from Truong Thi Factory, Electricity Factory and Ben Thuy Sawmill coordinated with Yen Luu farmers to fight to demand the local authorities to return public land to the poor.

On July 6, 1930, workers at the Match Factory went on strike and made four demands: (1) The workers were allowed to appoint 6 supervisors and 1 female supervisor; (2) Male and female workers must have separate work areas; (3) Buy green cloth to cover the glass doors to reduce the heat; (4) The owner must fire the evil supervisor Chuyen.

The strike lasted for a long time, and the Vinh Red General Union sent out an “Urgent Notice” calling on people everywhere to help and donate money. Responding to the union’s call, Party committees at all levels and mass organizations in Nghe Tinh donated money, potatoes, and rice to help families with workers participating in the strike.

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….From June 1930, the French colonial government in Central Vietnam and Nghe Tinh made concessions to implement some demands of workers and peasants such as: abolishing the patrol system, banning beatings of workers, increasing wages for workers, releasing women arrested during protests…

The newspaper Nguoi Lao Kho of the Central Region Party Committee published the news on July 13, 1930.

On July 28, 1930, workers at Ben Thuy Wine Factory protested and presented their demands to the factory owner. When their demands were not accepted, the workers declared a strike and shortly thereafter the factory had to close and stop production.

On July 28, 1930, the Vinh Provincial Party Committee distributed leaflets calling on the masses to fight to celebrate the International Day of Opposition to Imperialist War. Responding to the Provincial Party Committee's call, workers at the Match Factory and Sawmill in Ben Thuy gathered to celebrate the anniversary of the Imperialist War.

The workers' fierce struggles brought them practical benefits. At the Match Factory, the capitalists had to increase the workers' wages by 30%. They also promised not to beat the workers, to install electric fans, and to replace male guards with female guards to avoid despicable acts.

On August 20, 1930, Yen Dung women and women of the Ben Thuy Match Factory coordinated to protest the authorities' arrest of striking workers and demanded their release.

On August 21, 1930, unemployed workers in the city, including many party members and members of the Red Union, united to fight to demand that the authorities find jobs for the unemployed, provide food for the hungry, and not fire workers.

In September, the workers' struggle continued to rise. The newspaper "Nguoi lao kho" published a special issue on September 6, 1930 to promote the struggle movement.“...The general strike in Ben Thuy was a new period, a period of fierce struggle, making French imperialism fear the mass forces!... Workers in Ben Thuy opened the way for struggle! Red flags fluttered throughout Nghe An province! The period of fierce struggle had come!”

Grasping the close relationship between workers and farmers in Nghe Tinh, the Vinh - Ben Thuy Party Committee brought the strongest ally of the proletariat, the peasants, to join the struggle. In Vinh - Ben Thuy, following the call of the Provincial Party Committee, the peasants both raised money to support the strikes and organized demonstrations against the employers who lowered wages and laid off workers, demanding an 8-hour workday and an increase in wages for workers.

There was almost no barrier of interests or feelings between the workers of Ben Thuy and the farmers of Yen Dung and Loc Da. When the workers of the Match Factory went on strike and the French colonialists sent soldiers to suppress them, the workers returned to Yen Dung to continue protesting, giving speeches and declaring a strike.

On June 27, 1930, when workers from the Match Factory, Truong Thi, Thai Hop, and Cua-Lao Xien coordinated a protest, farmers from Yen Luu commune focused on fighting for land rights. The scale and combination of activities between workers and farmers grew larger and larger.

The achievements of workers and farmers during the arduous struggle were not only economic but also the solidarity between workers and farmers in Nghe Tinh, a decisive factor in the success of the revolution.

The strong development of the revolutionary movement made the French colonialists extremely panic. They frantically used the most vicious policies to drown the Nghe Tinh Soviet in a sea of ​​blood.

The White Terror campaign began with the bombing of protesters on September 12, 1930 in Thai Lao (Hung Nguyen). After this struggle, many cadres and party members were arrested and imprisoned, and factory workers were also fired, so there was no longer enough force to organize massive strikes like before, but only focused on protecting the Party organization and the Red Trade Union to propagate the revolution.

In just 2 years (1930-1931), in Vinh - Ben Thuy alone, hundreds of cadres, party members and the masses were arrested and imprisoned. To avoid the white terror of the French colonialists, the Party decided to retreat into secret activities to preserve its forces. The revolutionary movement of the people of Nghe Tinh in general and of the workers of Vinh - Ben Thuy in particular also temporarily subsided.

Thus, through the revolutionary movement of 1930-1931, culminating in the Nghe Tinh Soviet, Vinh - Ben Thuy workers demonstrated their pioneering role in the struggles against colonialism and feudalism.

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...without the earth-shaking class battles of 1930-1931, in which workers and peasants exerted their extraordinary willpower, there could not have been a climax in 1936-1939...

General Secretary Le Duan