National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan has urged the coal-mining sector to uphold its tradition of solidarity and discipline to retain its role as a pillar of national energy security.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (4th from right, front) and other delegates at the ceremony. (Source: nhandan.com.vn)

She made the call while attending a ceremony on November 11 to mark the 80th anniversary of the traditional day of mine workers and the coal-mining sector.

The successful November 1936 strike by 30,000 mine workers demanding that mine-owners raise wages and cut working hours was the pinnacle of the workers’ movement under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam during the 1936-1939 period.

The NA leader said that coal-mining was an important sector, providing energy for the country’s economic growth, and called for greater application of advanced technology to raise productivity, reduce costs and increase labour safety, thereby ensuring the sector’s sustainable development.

The chairwoman also asked authorities of Quang Ninh province, which has the largest coal deposits in Vietnam, to work closely with coal-mining companies to improve the living standard of workers and to find a balance between development and environmental protection.

Over the past eight decades, the coal-mining sector has increased its output by five to six times, its revenues by 43 times and the average income of its workers by thirteen times.

On the occasion, Quang Ninh received a certificate recognising the Deo Nai Mine, to which Uncle Ho paid a visit in March 1959, as a national historical site.

Source: VNA