May Day is approaching. Skopje is preparing for the traditional protest of the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM). With it come the usual traffic changes through the city centre. Do not drive in - that is the advice from anyone who knows what Skopje looks like on days like this.

SSM is calling a mass protest for workers' rights. The agenda is old. Minimum wage, working hours, workplace safety, unpaid wages - the same problems that come back every year. This year, they are joined by rising living costs driven by global energy markets.

Sonk and KSS - the other two union federations - have different views on how the protest should be run. The infighting between union blocs is nothing new. But on May Day, in theory, they are supposed to speak with one voice. Whether they actually will is something we will see tomorrow.

What is the reality for workers in Macedonia? A low minimum wage. A fictional average wage (the statistic is inflated by the salaries of officials and a handful of private sectors). Hyperinflation on basic goods. Hundreds of thousands of Macedonian citizens working abroad, and their remittances keeping families here afloat. That is the reality.

On May Day, SSM will demand a wage increase. The government will say "we understand, we are working on it". No concrete decision will follow. It happens every year. With one upgrade - now even the media covering the event have journalists on cut salaries. They are part of the story too.

The Balkans understands - May Day is about symbolism more than results. But the protest still has to happen. Because once the symbolism is gone, so is the question the workers have the right to ask. And then - everything will be "stable". As "stable" as the wages that do not grow, the prices that do, and the emigration that keeps going.