Fire snufs out Critchlow Labour College, student records, union history

Last Updated on Friday, 1 August 2025, 18:14 by Writer

A fire of unknown origin, so far, early on Friday morning gutted the administrative building of the Guyana Trades Union Congress and the Critchlow Labour College (CLC) on Woolford Avenue, Georgetown, destroying more than 50 years of student records and history of the country’s trade union movement dating back to the 1950s, officials said.

CLC Principal Dr Ivor English told Demerara Waves Online News that the institution, which was founded in 1967, would no longer be in operation. “Basically, as it stands, I think there would be no operation there in the foreseeable future unless there is a tremendous investment or input because the main administrative building is now destroyed,” he said. He did not rule out the likelihood of the CLC continuing to offer virtually the one-year Industrial and Social Studies (ISS), an acceptable entry requirement by the University of Guyana. Though classes were being offered virtually, he said a number of courses required face-to-face engagements, especially when teaching weaker students.

He said historical records, such as transcripts which were often requested by students overseas, are among the CLC’s documents that were destroyed by the blaze. “That’s it! Everything is gone there because, although technology is now in place, we had now started to probably do back-up systems and so on but everything requires resources and resources had become scarce because there is no sponsorship or anything like that. It merely was a sacrifice,” he said. Dr English estimated that between 30,000 and 50,000 students, including many prominent citizens, had graduated from the CLC since its establishment.

GTUC President Norris Witter also told Demerara Waves Online News that irreplaceable documents about the history of Guyana’s trade union movement, studies, reports, decisions and correspondence with local, regional and international organisations were all engulfed by the fire. “It’s a serious setback because what we’re talking about there is the destruction of the historical records of the movement,” he said. Asked how the fire would impact on the GTUC’s relationship with its affiliates, he said the umbrella organisation would rely on documents stored on flash drives and in the possession of affiliate unions over times. “It would not bring a halt to the TUC, as such, but it will have a serious effect in terms of our operations going forward,” he said.

Unconfirmed reports are that the fire started shortly after midnight. Mr Witter said the chances of reconstructing the building were very slim because the GTUC was cash-strapped as a result of declining revenues from affiliates’ dues. He attributed that to a less than vibrant trade union movement not only in Guyana but the wider Caribbean. He said the rental and lease fees for parts of its Woolford Avenue property were insufficient to allow for savings as most of the earnings were spent on employment and other operational costs.

The CLC auditorium and a number of classrooms were destroyed by a previous fire in March this year. Dr English said the Guyana Fire Service had never said definitively what was the cause of that blaze.