Court postpones SeaFrance decision again
A commercial court in Paris yesterday postponed its decision on the takeover bid for SeaFrance submitted by a co-operative of the cross-Channel ferry operator’s workers until 3 January, ifw-net reports.
Meanwhile, the main staff union, the CFDT, will be back in Paris tomorrow, to hear the appeal court’s verdict on its request that SeaFrance’s ferries be allowed to return to service.
“The judicial administrators withdrew their request that SeaFrance be liquidated with immediate effect and this was good news,” said a senior official of the CFDT.
“We are now demanding that the government, via [its parent company, state rail operator] SNCF become a shareholder in the new SeaFrance company and thus allow us to save 1,000 jobs,” he added.
Around 200 SeaFrance staff had arrived in Paris from Calais in coaches to demonstrate their support for the takeover bid being piloted by the CFDT.
One SeaFrance worker said, “It’s a small victory, but the battle continues.”
The co-operative’s bid remains seriously short of capital, having only obtained promises of funding from local authorities of less than €15 million of the estimated €25-30 million required.
At a hearing on 16 November, the commercial court ordered the liquidation of SeaFrance, but allowed the ferry operator to continue trading until 28 January 2012.
However, actual ferry operations were shut down, with the administrators claiming that the safety of vessels, staff and property could not be guaranteed.
The union argues that the shutdown is an illegal lock-out and is ruining SeaFrance’s core business, with customers switching to competitors, and has suggested it is part of a move by management to sabotage the co-op’s takeover .
A spokesman said: “It’s high time SeaFrance’s ferries took to the sea again. Management’s attitude in all of this has been to undermine its staff’s right to work.”
Meanwhile, the main staff union, the CFDT, will be back in Paris tomorrow, to hear the appeal court’s verdict on its request that SeaFrance’s ferries be allowed to return to service.
“The judicial administrators withdrew their request that SeaFrance be liquidated with immediate effect and this was good news,” said a senior official of the CFDT.
“We are now demanding that the government, via [its parent company, state rail operator] SNCF become a shareholder in the new SeaFrance company and thus allow us to save 1,000 jobs,” he added.
Around 200 SeaFrance staff had arrived in Paris from Calais in coaches to demonstrate their support for the takeover bid being piloted by the CFDT.
One SeaFrance worker said, “It’s a small victory, but the battle continues.”
The co-operative’s bid remains seriously short of capital, having only obtained promises of funding from local authorities of less than €15 million of the estimated €25-30 million required.
At a hearing on 16 November, the commercial court ordered the liquidation of SeaFrance, but allowed the ferry operator to continue trading until 28 January 2012.
However, actual ferry operations were shut down, with the administrators claiming that the safety of vessels, staff and property could not be guaranteed.
The union argues that the shutdown is an illegal lock-out and is ruining SeaFrance’s core business, with customers switching to competitors, and has suggested it is part of a move by management to sabotage the co-op’s takeover .
A spokesman said: “It’s high time SeaFrance’s ferries took to the sea again. Management’s attitude in all of this has been to undermine its staff’s right to work.”