(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Norwegian football player Morten Gamst Pedersen, who plays for the English team Blackburn, has joined New Time columnist Noreena Hertz's campaign "Mayday for nurses", where football players contribute a day's salary to nurses in England.
Hertz wrote in Ny Tid on March 30 that up to three quarters of newly qualified English nurses will not get a job, school places have been reduced by ten percent so far this year and over the next four years the UK will lack 14.000 nurses.
- Morten Gamst Pedersen told me that the nurses would not be able to get into such a terrible situation in Norway, and he felt a responsibility to support the campaign, says Hertz.
In addition to Gamst Pedersen, Hertz has brought players on five of the Premiere League teams. Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United, also contributes a daily salary to the nurses.
- I am especially pleased that there are so many that of the most profiled players have been involved from the very beginning. Many have done much more than just contribute money. Ryan Giggs, who plays for Manchester United, lined up for our photo campaign.
Each player who contributes changes the life situation of at least twelve nurses. Hertz wrote in Ny Tid that she does not hesitate to use famous people as a drag aid as a method to focus on the nurses' hopeless situation.
- Are only football players able to participate?
- In total, there are more than 23.000 people who support the campaign. I have received emails from thousands of people who want to support the campaign financially, but so far only people with connections to football have been allowed to contribute money. In addition to coaches like Ferguson, retired players have also given money. There has never been such an action among football players before. This is football history.
Well-known musicians such as Bob Geldof, Bono and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver have many times led the authorities to move resources where they think it is needed. Hertz chose to send the pass to another arena to get the football players to set the political agenda.
- What consequences will your campaign have for the nurses' situation in the long term?
- The English Parliament has started a signature campaign with the wording: "We praise the nurses for their vital work and the value they add to society." In the next round, I will ask what the politicians actually intend to do with the nurses' situation.
