The Suncrest Hotel has changed its name to Seashells Resort at Suncrest Hotel and the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin is not too happy about this.

The union suspects this may be a tactic by the company to renege on the collective agreement for employees. It has called for a meeting with the management to clarify matters, which will be held tomorrow.

A hotel spokesman, however, said there had been no change of ownership or management.

The name was changed overnight when employees were asked to remove the old signage on the hotel's façade.

"I was not informed of this change and I only got to know through word of mouth," UĦM section secretary Lino Vassallo told The Times yesterday.

He insisted the union wanted to make sure all provisions of the collective agreement would still apply despite the name change.

The company confirmed this was just a branding exercise, he said, but the union was not taking any chances. Mr Vassallo said the collective agreement had a particular clause that guaranteed employees a redundancy gratuity if the hotel shed jobs or closed down.

"Many hotels have been trying to drop that clause. We want to ensure that the change in name will not be used as an excuse not to adhere to the conditions of the collective agreement if the hotel decides to make employees redundant," Mr Vassallo said.

The collective agreement expired almost seven years ago but according to Mr Vassallo the company had continued to recognise its provisions while the union has never asked for wage increases.

Tomorrow, the union will be asking the management to confirm in writing that any reference to Suncrest Hotel in the collective agreement should be taken to mean Seashells Resort at Suncrest Hotel, reflecting the change in name.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com