Oct 06, 2011. /Lesprom Network/. Swedish paper workers’ union, Pappers, has put forward its demands for a new collective agreement that could see a general wage increase of 3.5%, as Nordic Paper Journal reported. The union has handed over the list, which includes a minimum of an SEK 860 ($124.6) rise per person per month, to the employers' organization, the Swedish Forest Industries Federation (Skogsindustrierna). “It is too early to say what the impact on different companies. What we have seen the last ten years is that the labor costs for each company, as a percentage of their total costs, are rather stable despite increasing wages.” says Christer Larsson, Chief Economist at Pappers. ”The reason is that the number of employees are decreasing each year through rationalizations.” The parties aim to reach an agreement at the end of November, and a new collective agreement will then be implemented from 1 February 2012.