French transport firm Transdev, a joint venture between Veolia Environnement and state-owned bank CDC, has failed to replace the chairman of the board of its ferry unit SNCM, the company and union sources said on Monday.
At a board meeting of Societe Nationale Maritime Corse Mediterranee (SNCM) in Paris on Monday, Transdev had proposed to call for a shareholder meeting to dismiss Gerard Couturier and replace him with Transdev Secretary-General Jerome Nanty.
Couturier is one of seven Transdev representatives on the 14-strong SNCM board, but he has voted against Transdev proposals in recent meetings.
"The rejection of this proposal is a victory for the staff members," a union source told Reuters.
Transdev owns 66 percent of SNCM, the French state 25 percent and the ferry operator's staff 9 percent.
"The refusal of the board to call this general shareholders' meeting again illustrates the totally abnormal governance in this company," Transdev said in a statement.
It added it will ask the commercial court to call a shareholders meeting.
(Reporting by Jean-Francois Rosnoblet; writing by Geert De Clercq, editing by David Evans)