ISU (trade union)

The ISU is a British trade union representing representing staff in the Borders, Customs and Immigration functions of the Home Office.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

The ISU has its main office in Harwich, which has overnight and day ferries to and from the Netherlands, 363 days a year. These places have direct rail connections to the places shown, including London and Amsterdam.

The union was founded in 1981 as the Immigration Service Union. It was a split from the Society of Civil and Public Servants (SCPS),[8] founded in protest at the SCPS calling for the repeal of the Immigration Act 1971.[9]

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.[10][11]

Membership of the union reached 4,263 in 2006,[11] 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.[12] It declined to 3,018 in that year.[13] In 2020, membership stood at 3,043.[14]

The ISU does not generally take industrial action.[15] In 2012, ISU members followed other public sector unions in agreeing to strike against changes to civil service pensions.[16] This vote resulted in a rapid climbdown on the pension cuts plans.[17][18] Similarly, planned heavy-handed tactics to stem irregular, dangerous, very small vessel immigration have also been the subject of polls for some form of industrial action in 2022.[19]