From the Colonial Period to Today: How Workers’ Unions in Việt Nam Lost Independence

In 1953, a Vietnamese worker labored for nearly two hours to afford a loaf of bread, while an American worker could buy the same loaf after just six minutes of work. [1] This reality persists more than 70 years later with Vietnamese workers remaining among the most voiceless groups, stretching every đồng to get by.

This tension frequently erupts into labor disputes. Before Tết 2024, a strike occurred at a South Korean-owned textile company in Bình Dương Province. [2] According to news reports, 350 workers staged a collective walkout demanding their promised Tết bonus. Rather than complying with labor regulations, their employer reportedly warned that authorities would be called if the protest continued. [3]

Such events are common; every year, Việt Nam sees hundreds of strikes, large and small. In July 2006, workers in District 12, Hồ Chí Minh City, smashed factory equipment over unpaid wages. [4] In March 2018, thousands from Pouchen Việt Nam Co., Ltd. in Đồng Nai Province blocked National Highway 1K to protest wage recalculations. [5] In February 2022, a worker in Ninh Bình was fined 7.5 million đồng for encouraging a strike via an online post. [6] In October 2023, 6,500 workers in Nghệ An also went on strike, demanding higher wages and better benefits. [7]

According to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, 6,364 strikes were recorded in Việt Nam between 1995 and 2021. None of them were organized by the Công đoàn Việt Nam (Vietnam General Confederation of Labor). [9]

A Right Without Freedom

The right to strike is one of the most fundamental rights of workers to defend their interests. Yet in Việt Nam, unlike in many other countries, all strikes occur spontaneously. [10] This is because the only official labor body is the state-controlled Công đoàn Việt Nam (Vietnam General Confederation of Labor), which functions only as an intermediary between employers, the government, and workers.

To navigate this topic, terminology is key. While “union” is typically used in English, the modern Vietnamese context distinguishes between công đoàn (associations of factory workers) and nghiệp đoàn (associations of self-employed workers in the same profession, like motorcycle taxi drivers or fishermen). Consequently, công đoàn is used as the general term for all worker organizations, distinct from the official Công đoàn Việt Nam. 

Việt Nam’s National Assembly will soon revise the Law on Trade Unions, and the nation is expected to ratify the International Labor Organization’s Convention No. 87 by the end of 2024, affirming the right to form independent unions. This move, however, is not without precedent. Vietnamese workers have, in the past, experienced a period when independent unions existed. When was that, and how did they operate?

The Rise of the Red Labor Union (Công hội Đỏ)

When the French colonized Việt Nam, they brought with them modern industry and the need for labor. By the late 1920s, Việt Nam had around 60,000 industrial workers in mines and factories, and more than 43,000 workers on plantations and farms in the South. [11]

At that time, the global economic crisis was hitting the working class hard, and numerous strikes broke out at the Sài Gòn port, on plantations, and in factories. The French colonial administration, which had banned labor organizations and required police approval for public gatherings, responded with brutal crackdowns. [12]

Amid this tension, communist revolutionaries seized the moment. In 1929, they founded the Công hội Đỏ (“Red Labor Union”) to infiltrate the working class, agitate for national liberation, and fight capitalism and French colonial rule. The organization later evolved into other movements, such as the Hội Công nhân Phản đế (“Anti-Imperialist Workers’ Association”) and the Hội Công nhân Cứu Quốc (“Workers’ National Salvation Association”). [13]

After the August Revolution of 1945 and the founding of the Democratic Republic of Việt Nam, Hồ Chí Minh quickly established the Tổng Liên Đoàn Lao Động Việt Nam (General Federation of Labor of Việt Nam) in 1946. This body, later known as the Công đoàn Việt Nam, had its mission set: to mobilize workers to produce weapons and join the resistance. [14]

The First Independent Union

In 1947, the colonial government allowed a general workers’ federation to open an office in Sài Gòn, which went on to establish sector-based unions across different industries. [15] A year later, the Tổng Liên đoàn Công nhân Cơ đốc (General Confederation of Christian Workers) was formally founded. Notably, many of its members and even its leader, Trần Quốc Bửu, were not actually Christians. The federation quickly established ten affiliated unions across major companies, including Citroën and Air Vietnam, as well as unions for shoeshiners, typesetters, tailors, and barbers. [16]

The right to form unions soon improved. In 1950, Emperor Bảo Đại issued a decree outlining rules for establishing workers’ associations, and the State of Việt Nam government announced plans to recognize the freedom to form unions. [17] Two years later, the Labor Code was enacted, with decrees recognizing trade unions, establishing a labor court (consisting of one judge and two representatives from workers and employers), and formalizing collective bargaining and the right to strike if mediation failed. [18]

By the early 1950s, some southern labor organizations had expanded into the North. According to declassified CIA documents, the General Confederation of Christian Workers—by then renamed the Tổng Liên đoàn Lao Công Việt Nam—had about 60,000 members in the South and 19 unions in the North. [19]

However, just as the right to free association was taking root, Việt Nam was divided under the Geneva Accords of 1954. From that point, labor unions in the North and South followed two drastically different paths.

The North: Independent Unions Wiped Out

Following the 1954 division, the northern government moved quickly to abolish independent unions, sending many of their leaders to perform forced labor near the Chinese border. The Communist Party's Vietnam General Confederation of Labor was installed as the sole legal union. [20]

In this new centrally planned economy, all factory operations and employment were dictated by the Party. Labor was completely politicized, with workers celebrated as the “vanguard class” essential to the war effort. The 1957 Trade Union Law reflected this, legally defining the state union as “a pillar of government,” “a participant in state management,” and “a force for national unification and world peace.” [21]

Meanwhile in the South, while unions were legally recognized, they were met with suspicion and repression by the Ngô Đình Diệm government, which was fearful of communist infiltration.

The South: Independent Unions and Legal Strikes

Under President Ngô Đình Diệm, the 1956 Constitution of the Republic of Việt Nam recognized workers’ rights to form unions and to strike under certain legal conditions. [22] However, Diệm viewed unions as potential entry points for communist influence. Many were suppressed, and numerous union leaders were arrested or tortured on allegations of collaborating with the Việt Minh. [23] Despite this repression, the Republic of Việt Nam ratified ILO Convention No. 87 on freedom of association—more than 60 years ago. [24]

After Diệm’s assassination in 1963, independent labor movements revived. Under General Nguyễn Khánh, the Republic ratified additional ILO conventions on labor inspection (No. 81), collective bargaining (No. 98), and anti-discrimination (No. 111). [25] 

With renewed labor freedoms came renewed strikes. In September 1964, a massive general strike paralyzed Sài Gòn, shutting off water, power, and transport for a day. [26] In January 1968, about 1,000 electric workers struck for higher wages; after police detained and released several union leaders, the government approved a 12% wage increase. [27, 28]

By 1969, the Republic of Việt Nam had roughly 600 unions under six national federations. [29] Among them, the Tenant Farmers’ Federation had 100,000 members [30] and the Fishermen’s Federation had 50,000. [31] The largest of all, however, was the Vietnamese Confederation of Labor, with 350,000 members. [32]

Yet, the openness of this environment allowed the North to infiltrate. By 1968, the North had built a covert union network, planting cadres to incite anti-government activity. [33] According to James L. Tyson, most southern unions were anti-communist and independent, causing the Việt Cộng to retaliate by assassinating leaders and bombing union offices. [34] This period of union freedom lasted until April 30, 1975.

After 1975: The End of Independent Unions

After April 30, 1975, independent unions in the South were completely dissolved. The headquarters of the Vietnamese Confederation of Labor was seized, and all members were ordered to report to authorities within 24 hours. [35] In 1976, labor activities in both regions were unified under the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, controlled entirely by the Communist Party. [36]

At the time, the southern economy was nationalized, eliminating private employers and labor markets. Conflict between workers and employers was deemed impossible since all managers were state appointees. [37] Unions became the Party’s tool to control and mobilize workers to fulfill production targets. Workers were called the “leading class” and guaranteed lifetime employment—but that ideal soon collapsed.

The Fall of the Subsidized Economy

Shortly after the war, Việt Nam’s planned economy crumbled. By the late 1970s, the country faced severe shortages of materials and goods. Inflation reached 100% per year, and the black market flooded in to fill the gap left by the subsidized economy. [38]

Malnutrition was widespread, reportedly even worse than during wartime. A civil servant’s monthly salary was worth less than a chicken, and workers were forced to take on multiple jobs to survive. Facing this crisis in the 1980s, Việt Nam reopened its labor market and allowed private enterprise. State factories downsized, pushing workers—once the “vanguard class”—back into the private sector as the socialist trade union system was restructured to fit a market economy.

At a Crossroads

After Việt Nam reopened to foreign investment in 1988, the state labor body was rebranded as the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL), the central body of the Công đoàn Việt Nam. This control was swiftly codified. The 1990 Trade Union Law formally prohibited independent unions, forcing workers in private enterprises to join the official Công đoàn Việt Nam.

Subsequent legal frameworks, including the 1992 Constitution and the 1994 Labor Code, further reinforced the Party’s control. By the mid-1990s, state-run unions were established in sectors like banking, police, and oil and gas, serving as Party extensions to monitor businesses. [39] In 1996, the Party ordered the creation of Party cells in all foreign-invested enterprises, which were often led by union chairpersons. [40] The Party has maintained total control over the union system ever since, with the Công đoàn Việt Nam as the sole legal representative of workers.

A Monopoly the Party Refuses to Relinquish

Workers and local unions today are trapped between employer demands, Party directives, and their own needs. While the Party still uses lofty ideals, calling workers the “vanguard class,” most laborers do not care for these abstract missions. They care about wages, working conditions, and fair treatment—issues that require independent representation and expose Việt Nam to criticism under international trade agreements.

The government's compromises have stalled. The 2019 Labor Code permits “worker organizations at enterprises,” but years later, a lack of implementing regulations means not one such organization has been recognized. [41]

Instead of independence, the state is pushing for absorption. The National Assembly is revising the 2012 Trade Union Law to allow these new organizations to join the official Công đoàn Việt Nam. A Politburo resolution clarifies the goal: guide all organizations into the state union, with the aim of having nearly all workers belong to it by 2045. [42] This determination to block genuine union freedom underscores a fundamental problem: no matter how vast it becomes, the Công đoàn Việt Nam cannot represent all of Việt Nam’s workers.

Nguyễn Hạnh wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on July 8, 2024. Đàm Vĩnh Hằng translated it into English for The Vietnamese Magazine.