UNISON Calls on Public to Support Essential Workers in Not Going Back to Normal

UNISON is today launching a nationwide advertising campaign called ‘No Going Back To Normal’ as part of its push to secure a better future for the key workers who have kept the nation going through the coronavirus pandemic.

Creative agency krow is behind the advertising campaign, which features real people like Loretta, a careworker, Eugene, who is a refuse collector, and Samantha, a health worker, appearing in a series of brand films and print ads. These ask if ‘going back to normal will mean going back to being undervalued’, telling audiences that while the clapping might have stopped, the support shouldn’t.

The message of UNISON’s campaign is that while some people are desperate to get back to normal, for many workers this means returning to a culture of long hours, low pay and high levels of stress. This is thanks to a decade of public spending cuts meaning sectors like healthcare, local government and education are desperately underfunded.

‘No Going Back To Normal’ calls on members of the public to sign UNISON’s open letter to the government demanding support for key workers and the rebuilding of public services.

The advertising campaign runs on digital media, in the press and out of home nationally starting Monday 14th September through to October. There is also an extensive influencer outreach programme, run by krow. Media is by M.i.Media.

Dave Prentis, general secretary of UNISON, said: “With lockdown easing, everyone is desperate to get back to normal. However, ‘normal’ cannot mean a return to low pay, penny-pinching and being under-valued. For too long, this has been the reality for those providing vital amenities including health and social care, policing, education and local government. Ministers need to invest properly in public services and respect workers by paying them fairly and keeping them safe. They must reverse a decade of neglect – and start right now.”

CEO of krow Group, John Quarrey, added: “It is vital for people to see the faces of real individuals like Loretta, Eugene and Samantha, whose hard work – at the risk of their own health – kept the rest of us safe during the worst days of the Covid pandemic. We can’t let the passionate, nationwide public support for these people fade into nothing because our lives are starting to get back to normal, so it’s up to us to back UNISON and pressure the government into making sure working conditions are vastly improved – otherwise where will we be next time the nation is plunged into a crisis?”