Industrial action will be prohibited in power stations, the oil and gas sectors, airports and train stations, the postal service, newspaper delivery, and water supply, irrigation and drainage services, it said.

The list of companies and state agencies, released in a decree by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, is subject to revision "depending on the socio-economic circumstances," said the official government website.

Government ministers and local authorities would meet every six months with employers and trade unions in the sectors banned from strike action "to hear and handle legitimate requests from the workers," the website said.