TRADE UNION REORGANIZATION IN BULGARIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600360365-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 22, 2011
• Sequence Number: 365
• Publication Date: November 27, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/22 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000600360365-7
CLASSIFICATION coNFIDENTIAL C~~FIDENYIAL
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPOR'
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
COUNTRY Bulgaria
SUBJECT Political - Trade unions
HOW
PUBLISHED Monthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED Paris
DATE
PUBLISHED dun - dui 1950
LANG!!AGE Bulgarian
TNIS DOCUY[NT CONTAINS IN/ORUA710N AfILCTINO TX[ NATIONAL OLILN]1
0l TH[ UNIiID STAT[f WI7N:N TN[ YLA NINO O/ lSPlO NADL ACT [0
U. S. C., ]1 AND l[, AS AY [NDID. ITS TRANSYIS]ION OR TNL RLY[LATION
Ol ITS DOMTlNT7 IM ANT YAM N[R LO AN UNAUTNO RIIlD P[RSON IS PRO?
NI[ITID LT LAM. RlPR00UCTI0N OF TNIS LO RY IS PRO HIIIT[0.
SOURCE Osvohn~lTd=^ic ~ ::Ll?-C,unuuuuisti~, voi i,
DATE OF ?
INFORMATION 1947-50
DATE DIST.a,9 Nov 1950
NO. OF PAGES 2
SUPPLEMENT 70
REPORT N0.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
1V0 u-? iyjv
TRADE UNION REORGANIZATION IN BULGARIA
The main objective of the present Bulgarian-trade unions is not to
improve the worker's living conditions and defend his interests, but to
fulfill the Five-Year Plan by incessantly prompting competitions, pledges,
coilectire work agreements, etc., to boost plan fulfillment.
The Fifth Plenary Session of the Communist Party, held in March 1950,
proclaimed that the work of the ORPS (General Workers? Trade Union) was
unsatisfactory, and ordered a reorganization of the unions based on the
Soviet principle of production. The greatest ^rror of the unions was
mately, total disruption oY work discipline.
established on a purely formal basis; the workers receive printed forms
with increased quota requirements to be fulfilled by means of pledges.
prises of the textile industry. While it is true that 16,000 new workers
As usual, the Communists see the reason for every failure in the
subversive activity of their enemies and Kostovites, insufficient adop-
tion of Soviet methods, and past cooperation with Yv,3oslav trade unions
and the all-Balkan trade-unlon conferences. But even after discounting
all these errors, Communist self-criticism has to admit that industrial
leadership has failed to enlist the cooperation of the workers in all
phases of economic life.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/22 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000600360365-7
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/22 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000600360365-7
7
The plenum therefore agreed to reorganize the trade unions after
the Soviet pattern; the existing trade-?urien associations have peen sus-
pended in favor of ORPS committees, and the 101 okoliya trade-union coun-
cils have been replaced by 14 okrug coun~ils~ This concentration process
Gill be further implemen?.orl by prndi1r+,inn rai:a~eri??@, i..g", rill workers
of one enterprise will be included in one trade-union organization. For
example, the waiters, cooksy and musicians of a Khoremag ~overnatent-owned
stores, restaurants, etc~~ will all belong to the same trade ~mion. Classi-
fications will also be determined by the economic plan under which the work
is performeda for example, construction workers employed at a dam project
are transferred ;rom the constzuction t?o ?he electrical workers? trade un-
ion, or forestry and lumber workers are included?in the same union since
they both are working under the Diinistry of Forestry?s plan, etc.
However, according to the Sofia daily newspapez? ~ru~ of 10 May 1950,
the results of the reorganization are far from gratifying and have mostly
resulted in disorganization. The supervihora of the former okoliya as-
sociations have hurriedly left their weak tc find?nev ,jobs, without wait-
ing for the reorganizatioc. The cadres, so highly emphasized under the
Communist system, have been disrupted, an3 plan :ulfillzaent is seriously
threatened.
are not supporting the Party.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/22 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000600360365-7