"People work more, but benefit less"/ Muçollari: The paradox of this May 1st

2026-05-01 18:35:00, Aktualitet CNA

"People work more, but benefit less"/ Muçollari: The paradox of

Member of the Presidency of the Democratic Party of Albania, Grigels Muçollari, has held meetings with residents of Unit 7 in Tirana, where he has invited them to participate in the May 8 protest.

In a reaction on social media, where he also shared the story of a worker in Tirana, Muçollari said that today people work more, but benefit less. According to him, this is the paradox of this May Day.

He adds that living has become more expensive, while the effort to cope has become longer and more tiring. Muçollari writes that this is one of the important reasons to protest.

Full post:

Nebiu tells us May 1st...

While going out to Unit 7 to meet citizens, to talk to them, to invite them to the May 8 protest, my friend Nebi Kurti appeared energetically. A simple meeting, on an ordinary day, but which actually gave me a different meaning for this May 1st.

Nebiu works as a taxi driver in Tirana. His days start early and end late. 12 hours at the wheel, often without a break, moving from one client to another, in a city that is becoming more expensive to live in every day. It is not a choice to work so hard. It is an obligation that comes from reality.

Rising oil prices, unstoppable prices, rising daily costs – all push people to work even longer hours, just to maintain a standard of living that was once considered normal, but which today seems increasingly unattainable.

And this is not just Nebiu's story. It is the story of many workers in this city. Even of many ordinary wage earners, who try to do the math every month, saving where they can, giving up basic things, just to keep the balance. They work harder, but feel they benefit less.

This is the paradox of this May 1st.

This paradox is dramatically expressed by data from the latest European Commission report, which found that 39% of Albanian employees have difficulty or a lot of difficulty making ends meet, compared to the European average of 8%. This percentage is the highest in Europe.

Nebiu is undoubtedly part of this statistic. But what impresses you is not only his fatigue. It is the fact that he has not given up. There is a calmness in the way he speaks, a smile that is never absent, and a determination to be present. He is not absent from any protest. He does not consider reaction as a luxury, but as an obligation.

Because for him, change doesn't come by waiting. It comes by being there, by speaking up, by not becoming indifferent.

This May 1st should not just be a symbolic day to remember work. It should be a moment of deeper reflection: does the work that each of us does justify the way we live? Is there still a connection between the labor and the living we manage to provide?

Because the reality is clear: life has become more expensive, while the struggle to cope has become longer and more tiring.

Nebiu is not an isolated case. He is a mirror. A concrete example of what many people are experiencing every day, in silence.

And for that very reason, his story is not just personal. It is a story that needs to be told. /CNA