ISU (trade union)

The ISU is a staff association representing workers in the defunct UK Immigration Service.

The union was founded in 1981 as the Immigration Service Union. It was a split from the Society of Civil and Public Servants (SCPS),[1] founded in protest at the SCPS calling for the repeal of the Immigration Act 1971.[2]

The union has been associated with campaigns for stricter immigration controls; in 1985, it successfully lobbied for limits to be placed on the ability of Members of Parliament to intervene in favour of people refused entry to the UK,[2] while the following year, it launched a campaign which received significant press coverage, arguing for visa requirements for people from Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.[1]

The ISU has applied for membership of the Trades Union Congress, but this was refused.[1] Opposition to it comes in particular from the Public and Commercial Services Union, successor to the SCPS, which has described it as a "right wing 'yellow' union" - that is, a company union for the UK Immigration Service. However, the union was declared independent by the Certification Officer.[3]

Membership of the union reached 4,263 in 2006,[3] but fell to 3,018 in 2015.[4] For many years, it was known for its avoidance of industrial action, although its rules never prohibited it from taking strike action if deemed necessary and,[5] for example, in 2012 it took part in co-ordinated strike action against changes to civil service pensions.[6]