Update on Silo Tank lawsuit

The Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal delivered its judgment on Tuesday 27 July in the lawsuit brought by ten Hungarian drivers against their former employer, Silo Tank Kft.

The judgment of the Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court concerns whether Hungarian drivers should have received Dutch wages for the international transport activities they carried out on behalf of Silo Tank (now Van den Bosch Transport Kft.) in the period 2007 – 2012.

On 2 May 2017, the Court of Appeal 's-Hertogenbosch ruled that the drivers are not entitled to Dutch wages. The transports carried out by the drivers took place only to a small extent in the Netherlands and for the most part abroad. The Court also found it relevant that the drivers lived in Hungary and had their financial and social obligations in that country.

The ten drivers in question then lodged an appeal and the case was referred by the Supreme Court to the Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal. On 27 July 2021, the Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal annulled the judgment of the Gerechtshof 's Hertogenbosch of 2 May 2017. The Court of Arnhem-Leeuwarden has ruled that the drivers concerned are entitled to Dutch wages.

Van den Bosch has taken note of the judgment and will examine it further. In an initial response, CEO Rico Daandels stated that he did not fully comprehend the Court's reasoning. Daandels questions whether it relates to the earlier ruling of the European Court of Justice on 1 December 2020 in the case brought by trade union FNV against Van den Bosch Transporten BV. "The Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal’s judgment attaches great importance to the group relationship, whereas this was not relevant in the earlier ruling of the European Court of Justice."

(Source photo: TUFOWKTM. (2007). Het Paleis van Justitie te Leeuwarden.)