ISU (trade union)
The ISU is a trade union representing workers in the 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, founded in protest as the SCPS calling for the repeal of the Immigration Act 1971.
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, while the following year, it launched a campaign which receive significant press coverage, arguing for visas requirements for people from Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.
The ISU has applied for membership of the Trades Union Congress, but this was refused. 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 has been declared independent by the Certification Officer.
Membership of the union reached 4,263 in 2006, but fell to 3,018 in 2015. 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, for example, in 2012 it took part in co-ordinated strike action against changes to civil service pensions.General Secretaries
