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VIETNAM 42 <br />permitted to provide HIV prevention and home -based care services to persons with <br />or affected by HIV /AIDS. <br />Section 7. Worker Rights <br />a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining <br />The law does not allow workers to organize and join independent unions of their <br />choice. While workers may choose whether to join a union and at which level <br />(local, provincial, or national) they wish to participate, every union must be <br />affiliated with the country's only trade union confederation, the Vietnam General <br />Confederation of Labor (VGCL). The VGCL, a union umbrella organization <br />controlled by the CPV, approves and manages a range of subsidiary labor unions <br />organized according to location and industry. By law the provincial or <br />metropolitan branch of the VGCL is responsible for organizing a union within six <br />months of the establishment of any new enterprise, and management is required to <br />cooperate with the union. <br />The law outlines mandatory union dues for union members and domestic and <br />foreign employers. While these dues were intended to support workers and union <br />activities, neither the VGCL nor the government, which is responsible for dues <br />collection, provided transparent information regarding their use. Although the law <br />does not allow for independent unions, it permits the negotiation of disputes to be <br />led and organized by "relevant entities," which may be composed of worker <br />representatives when the enterprise in question does not have a union, i.e., during <br />the first six months after an enterprise is established. The law allows for "union <br />activities" during this period, especially during emergencies such as a strike. <br />The law permits strikes under certain prescribed circumstances and stipulates an <br />extensive and cumbersome process of mediation and arbitration that must be <br />followed before a lawful strike may occur. <br />The law prohibits strikes in businesses that serve the public or that the government <br />considers essential to the national economy and defense. The law also grants the <br />prime minister the right to suspend a strike considered detrimental to the national <br />economy or public safety. The law defines "essential services" more broadly than <br />in International Labor Organization (ILO) criteria. A decree defines these <br />enterprises as ones involved in electricity production; post and <br />telecommunications; maritime and air transportation, navigation, and management; <br />