By Nicole Telford- The male and female washrooms at the Critchlow Labour College have been vandalized sometime between Thursday evening and wee hours of Friday. Some eight-toilet bowls and two urinals have been damaged by vandals making the washroom facilities out of order for staff and students who attend the college.
General Secretary of the Guyana Trade Union Congress Lincoln Lewis, in an interview with Village Voice News, said since the establishment of the Collage in 1967 there was never anything of that magnitude but for the exception of the Government withdrawal of subvention to the college which affected classes.
“Someone or group has entertained the thoughts that this college must not survive or must not be in a state to deliver education to the community,” Lewis added. Standing in a vandalized washroom the General Secretary pointed to the damaged urinals, stated, “look what they have done, these urinals here, somebody or some group took a hammer or something and broke out all the toilets and urinals in the gents and ladies facilities.”
The trade unionist said despite the challenges “we have been trying, notwithstanding the denial of subvention to this college, to keep it going, to deliver some sort of better education to our constituency; to be challenged by these things it is difficult.”
The trade unionist said the evening classes for Friday, Oct 13th 2023 had to be cancelled. Lewis stated further that classes can only be restarted upon completion of repairs to the washrooms.
Asked if he had any idea who committed the act, the trade unionist said, “we do not know where it is coming from but we have our view.”
Hurt but undeterred by the setback, the general secretary made known “this college belongs to the workers, past, present and future and we will not fail. We have to hold hands together, remain focused and seek to ensure the issue does not repeat itself.”
The Critchlow Labour College is owned by the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) and was established to provide learning to union and non-union members, government and non-government officials, and persons from all political parties, races, classes, genders and other differences.
The Peoples Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government had withdrawn subvention from the College during their previous administration, the A Partnership for National and Alliance for Change A(PNU+AFC) administration had reinstated the funding to the College when they came to power in 2015 but the PPP/C administration since coming to power in 2020 has again withdrawn the subvention to the College.
The College is supported by rentals and fees from its students along with some donor organisations, which Lewis said the GTUC is always grateful for, since the help of the public, through past and present students as well as businesses, has aided the college to provide education and training for students and trade unionists.
