 | |
| Formation | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Type | Trade union |
| Location | |
| Members |  3,803 [1] (2022) |
General Secretary | Mark Gribbin |
| Website | www |
Formerly called | Immigration Services Union |
The ISU is a British trade union representing some of the operational staff in the borders, customs and immigration functions of the Home Office. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Contents
The union was founded in 1981 as the Immigration Service Union. It was a split from the Society of Civil and Public Servants (SCPS), [9] founded in protest at the SCPS calling for the repeal of the Immigration Act 1971. [10]
The ISU is politically independent and not a member of the Trades Union Congress. PCS, the SCPS's successor, sees ISU as a yellow union, as some senior managers encouraged its splitting off, although its independence has been certified by the Certification Officer. [11] [12]
Membership of the union reached 4,263 in 2006, [12] but, in common with all Civil Service unions, fell after the ending of payroll wage check-off (subscriptions automatically deducted where workers have ticked to confirm they wish to be in any recognised union to their employer) in 2015. [13] It declined to 3,018 in that year. [14] In 2020, membership stood at 3,043. [15] By 2022, ISU membership stood at 3,803. [1]
The ISU does not generally take industrial action. [16] In 2012, ISU members followed other public sector unions in agreeing to strike against changes to civil service pensions. [17]