In 1948, Gilbert Jouan, a French colonial customs officer with twenty years' experience in Indochina and an abiding faith that trade unions would form a bulwark against Communist intrusion, took the first tentative steps toward organizing Vietnamese workers. Working with the French Confederation of Christian Workers (CFTC), Jouan and other Catholic trade unionists in 1947 formed a “delegation” representing CFTC interests in Vietnam, and notified French authorities of his intention to organize “an authentic Christian trade union in Indochina … for the Indochinese themselves”.

Strictly speaking, Jouan's actions violated the law. Trade unions, explained one colonial official in 1948, had “absolutely no legal standing; groups such as these are merely tolerated by public officials”. Still, the French invested great hope in Jouan's work. An official report on Christian trade union organizing described Jouan as “worthy of our esteem”. The colonial government even arranged time off from the customs office for Jouan so that he could focus on the organizing work that officials obviously hoped would counterbalance the appeal of the Viet Minh. “The consolidation of the support of the working class in Vietnam is mainly to be achieved by close collaboration with the Christian Trade Union”, explained the Vietnamese Minister of Social Action. The result was an awkward modus vivendi between the nascent, still-illegal labour organization and the colonial state.

Within a few years, Jouan's Christian labour movement grew in numbers and clout, and eventually took the name the Confédération Vietnamienne du Travail Chrétien (Vietnamese Confederation of Christian Workers, known best by its French acronym, CVTC). The organization had far-reaching ambitions — to be an activist and independent voice for the oppressed workers of Vietnam. Its survival for the next two-and-a-half decades remains a testament to the skill and commitment of its leadership and rank-and-file. Likewise, frequent strikes, workplace actions, and political activism sponsored by the confederation suggest a genuine militancy on the part of South Vietnam's unions and workers.