SECTION 2. - Contract of Labor (n) Art. 1700.

The relations between capital and labor are not merely contractual. They are so impressed with public interest that labor contracts must yield to the common good. Therefore, such contracts are subject to the special laws on labor unions, collective bargaining, strikes and lockouts, closed shop, wages, working conditions, hours of labor and similar subjects. Art. 1701. Neither capital nor labor shall act oppressively against the other, or impair the interest or convenience of the public. Art. 1702. In case of doubt, all labor legislation and all labor contracts shall be construed in favor of the safety and decent living for the laborer. Art. 1703. No contract which practically amounts to involuntary servitude, under any guise whatsoever, shall be valid. Art. 1704. In collective bargaining, the labor union or members of the board or committee signing the contract shall be liable for nonfulfillment thereof. Art. 1705. The laborer's wages shall be paid in legal currency. Art. 1706. Withholding of the wages, except for a debt due, shall not be made by the employer. Art. 1707. The laborer's wages shall be a lien on the goods manufactured or the work done. Art. 1708. The laborer's wages shall not be subject to execution or attachment, except for debts incurred for food, shelter, clothing and medical attendance. Art. 1709. The employer shall neither seize nor retain any tool or other articles belonging to the laborer. Art. 1710. Dismissal of laborers shall be subject to the supervision of the Government, under special laws. Art. 1711. Owners of enterprises and other employers are obliged to pay compensation for the death of or injuries to their laborers, workmen, mechanics or other employees, even though the event

may have been purely accidental or entirely due to a fortuitous cause, if the death or personal injury arose out of and in the course of the employment. The employer is also liable for compensation if the employee contracts any illness or disease caused by such employment or as the result of the nature of the employment. If the mishap was due to the employee's own notorious negligence, or voluntary act, or drunkenness, the employer shall not be liable for compensation. When the employee's lack of due care contributed to his death or injury, the compensation shall be equitably reduced. Art. 1712. If the death or injury is due to the negligence of a fellow worker, the latter and the employer shall be solidarily liable for compensation. If a fellow worker's intentional malicious act is the only cause of the death or injury, the employer shall not be answerable, unless it should be shown that the latter did not exercise due diligence in the selection or supervision of the plaintiff's fellow worker.