The Critchlow Labour College (CLC), the education arm of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) long respected for training generations of workers and trade-unionists, now finds itself fighting to preserve both its campus and its reputation after two suspicious fires and a bruising property dispute. A March 22, 2025 blaze badly damaged a wing of the Woolford Avenue complex; a second, larger fire on July 31 destroyed further sections and devastated irreplaceable student records and archival material. The GTUC has called the repeated incidents “suspect” and demanded independent investigation.
The fires came before — and now sit at the centre of — a bitter tussle with Dr. Stanley Paul, principal of a private outfit styled the University of Excellence, Management and Business (UEMB). Paul says he signed a commercial lease in June 2025 with a CLC official that gave his organisation responsibility for part of the compound; he has since asserted broader rights over the property, claiming a long-term lease and even posting “No Trespassing” notice. Analysts, including CLC Board Secretary Lincoln Lewis, say the purported lease and Paul’s subsequent actions exceed his authority and have effectively locked out legitimate CLC staff and users.
The Georgetown Mayor and City Council has weighed in, issuing a cease-and-desist order tied to the property — a sign municipal authorities see a live regulatory and public-order issue at the site. Meanwhile, the GTUC continues to frame the two fires and the lockout as a coordinated threat to an institution central to labour education in Guyana.
Where the situation stands: the story remains fluid. Media accounts from this month describe a continuing standoff, restricted access for CLC personnel, and competing claims over legal title and possession. Calls for independent probes into the fires and for clear judicial resolution of lease claims are now urgent: the college’s records, history and educational role are at stake, and the longer this dispute drags on, the greater the damage to the labour movement and the public interest.
Bottom line — an appeal for resolution: the Critchlow Labour College deserves protection and restoration. Its mission as a labour education centre is a public good; municipal authorities, the courts and law enforcement should ensure that any property dispute is adjudicated transparently, that the cause of the fires is independently established, and that those acting on the site respect the rule of law and the college’s role. Until the legal claims are settled, the college’s owners and the GTUC should be treated as rightful stewards of Critchlow’s legacy, while Dr. Paul’s aggressive tactics and expansive public claims warrant skepticism and legal scrutiny
