VIETNAMESE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A003100110004-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 6, 2003
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: December 15, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
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2 T(DF INFO.
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Vietnamese Labor Organizations
This Document contains information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States, withl$ the mean-
ing of Title 18, Sections 793 and 794, of the U.8. Code, as
amended. Its transmission or revelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law. The reproduction of this form is prohibited.
REPORT NO.
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DATE DISTR. 15 December 1953
NO. OF PAGES 7
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
Three branches of the labor movement in Vietnam are the Confederation Vietnamienne
du Travail Chretien (CVTC), the Syndicat Libre Vietnamiennl and the Force Ouvriere,2
2. The CVTC has 60,000 members3, the majority of which are in South Vietnam, with
12,000 members in the Saigon-Cholon area alone. In North Vietnam, the most
recent area to be organized, membership exceeds 6,000. On 1 November 1952,
total CVTC membership had been less than 6,000.
3. The creation of the CVTC or, ap-it was called then, the Asciation de Defense des
Interets Professionels (ADIP) , started the present trade union movement in
Vietnam. The organization was established by a group of workers with Christian
leanings and was authorized by a decree of the High Commissioner of France in
Indochina dated 17 September 1949. At that time, Vietnamese labor was not free
to organize and the workers were governed by the decree of 21 February 1941 (as
revised by the decree of 11 October 1941) which was promulgated in Indochina on
22 October 1944. The labor laws of Vietnam carried no provision for the defense
of labor by the workers themselves. But, in spite of the absence of a labor
code and of freedom to organize, the ADIP pledged itself to fight along union
lines and soon attracted the sympathy of the workers, thanks to the enthusiasm
and effectiveness of its supporters.
4. Always conscious of its illegality, the ADIP sought constantly to obtain as
quickly as possible an international guarantor capable of protecting its freedom
of action and its very existence against threats of dissolution by the local
authorities. In May 1950, the ADIP was recognized by the International Labor
Organization (ILO). It then sought affiliation with another international labor
organization. With the aim of safeguarding its Christian leanings and its
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freedom of action, it requested affiliation with the International Federation of
Christian Unions and was unanimously admitted at its 19th session at Vienna on
23 November 1951. At this time, ADIP's name was changed to the Confederation
Vietnamienne du Travil Chretien or Tong-lien doan Lao-tong Viet-nam. Thus the
CVTC became represented in a private organization as well as in such official
organizations as the UNESCO and the ILO. Although frowned upon by the Vietnamese
government, the CVTC was nevertheless tolerated since the Government itself was
seeking recognition by the social organizations of the United Nations.
5, On the basis of Christian morality- and the principle of plural unionism,5 the
CVTC stands for the liberation of the working class from both Communism and
European-type capitalism. Although the majority of CVTC's directors and
adherents are non-Christian, Catholic morality gives the organization a solid
anti-Communist base and is analogous to the traditional moral pattern of
Vietnam; it presents clear and precise organizational concepts found lacking in
the vague traditional Vietnamese moral system, which has not kept pace with
modern economic development. The formula of plural unionism offered by the
CVTC is more in accord with the wishes of Vietnamese labor than the more rigid
formula of liberal unions,6 which is too preoccupied with unity of action and
which thus appears too dictatorial in the eyes of Vietnamese workers.
6. CVTC's principal activities are the formation of union affiliates, the education
of its members in the principles of the CVTC (justice and charity), the struggle
for a proper legal framework for organized labor and. the work to,improve the
economic situation of the nation. Night classes7are held for the better elements,
especially the youth, with the aim of providing to the general membership a core
of workers firm in their beliefs and capable of eventual assumption of the
leadership. Simultaneously, the education of workers and peasants is being
undertaken at the local level by means of lectures and tracts. However, the
defense of the,workers against governmental and employer pressures occupies most
of the leaders' time.8
7, As an indication of the CVTC's support, the General Assembly of the CVTC of
Central Vietnam at Hue on 10 May 1953 was attended by the Governor of Central
Vietnam, the Bishop of Hue, the President of the Buddhist Congregation of.
Vietnam, and two representatives of the Chief Bonze of the Buddhist monastery
of Central Vietnam./
8. The leaders of the CVTC are:
a. National: President: Phan Van Dang, Commercial employee
Vice President: Ho Van An, Commercial employee, in
charge of CVTC doctrinal purity.
Secretary General: Tran Quoc Buu, former political
prisoner (10 years of forced labor,
10 years of exile, d orted to-
Puolo Condore Island in 19110).
Assistant to the Secretary: Tran Rau Quyen, former-political
prisoner (20 years of forced labor,
deported to Puolo Condore Island
in 1942)
Advisor: Maurice Jouari, appointed by the French
High Commissioner
b. Central Vietnam: President:
Secretary:
2nd Secretary:
Office:
c. North Vietnam: Office:
Le Van Viih, private school teacher
Bui Thuy, nrinter
Miss Pham Thi Nga, teacher
83B Tran Hung Dao Street, Hue.
7 Thi Sach Street, Hanoi
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9a Unions affiliated with the CVTC are as follows:
Saigon
Federated Union of Saigon
Civil Aviation Employees
Bus and Streetcar Employees
Health Service and Medical Employees
Match Factory Employees
Tailors
Shoemakers
Glazers
-'Casque< Brand Hat Factory Employees
Felt Hat Renovators
Masons
Joiners
Tai Conh Lighterers
Musicians
French-Indian Employees
Tugboat operators
Hairdressers
Terre Rouge Plantation Employees
Weavers
Road Transport Workers
Bakers
Journalists
Photographers
Employees of Commerce and Industry
Union Sections: Port of Commerce Workers
Motor Cyclo Operators
Cyclo Operators
Central Electric Employees
Caltex Employees
Ca-bac Pickle Works Employees
Caric Employees
Scama Employees
Macadi Employees
Malthausen Employees
h.F.E.O. Employees
S.I.R.A. Employees
N.S.E.F.O. Employees
Cholonll
Junkmen (boat operators)
Employees of Commerce and Industry:
Union Sections: Rice-Mill Workers
Saw-Mill Workers
Distillery Workers
Food Handlers
Household Utensils Workers
Gia Dinh
Day Laborers of Gia Dinh Public Works
Donnai Ceramics Workers
Gia Dinh. Sawmill Workers (Union Section)
Binh Phuoc Sugar Refinery Employees
Potters
Lai Thien Ceramics Workers
Teamsters
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Sugar Industry Workers
Clogmakers (wooden shoes)
Road Transport Workers
Thu Dau Not Potters (Union Section)
My Tho
My Tho Public Works Employees
My Tho Dredging Employees
Employees of Commerce and Industry
Agricultural Workers
Health Service Employees
Bakers
Junkmen (boat operators)
Vinh Long
Public Vehicle Drivers
Cyclo Operators
Tilbury Operators
Can Tho
Agricultural Workers of D.A.O. Plantation
Go Cong
Construction Workers
Road Transport Workers
Employees of Commerce and Industry
b. Central Vietnam
There are 15 unions in Hue and 10 in Tourano (Da Nang). Of these, the
most important are Dockers, Railroad Employees and Road Transport Workers.
Others include: tailors. smiths, commerce and industry employees, hair-
dressers, joiners, masons, shoemakers, metal Workers, agricultural workers,
heavers, construction work employees, sawyers, cyclo operators and private
teachers.
Hanoi Area Trade Unionst Health Service Employees
Bus Depot Food Handlers
Cyclo Operators
Coppersmiths
Tailors
Joiners
Maritime Zone Trade Unions: Health Service Employees
Dockers
Graphic Arts
Phat Diem-Ninh Binh Unions: Tailors
Bus Depot Food Handlers
Junkmen (boat operators)
Weavers
Joiners
Masons
Shoemakers
River Fishermen
Hairdressers
Transport Maintenance Workers
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