Steel workers in the Illawarra have voted to ratify a new enterprise agreement and forfeit working conditions, to keep BlueScope's Port Kembla plant open.

The agreement will trigger 500 job losses, a three-year pay freeze and the loss of various conditions for employees.

More than 1000 workers voted through a secret ballot on Monday and Tuesday, ordered by the Fair Work Commission.

"I'm glad overall that workers realised steel workers have to stick together," Australian Workers Union South Coast Branch Secretary Wayne Phillips said.

"No one likes the agreement, it's not the best thing they've ever done, but in this particular time period, it's the only thing we could have done.

"Whilst I don't think everyone should be clapping their hands I just think that we need to realise it's hard times, the industry is in a bit of a crisis, and members made the right decision," he said.

Mr Phillips said he expects all 220 shop floor redundancies will be voluntary.

"I understand we have about 15 people who are left without a role at this particular point in time, so I'm sure they can be accommodated, but no one out of this whole process have been forced out of a job," he said.

"While it's sad to lose 200 members, it's much better when those positions go on a voluntary means not a forced means."

There were rumblings of discontent over the agreement last week, but Mr Phillips said he's pleased the issues were able to be addressed prior to the vote.

"This agreement has probably been the worst one I've had to negotiate with the conditions that we now face," he said.

"I congratulate every single member who's put this hard time behind them, now let's move forward.

"I really do want to thank the community and the Illawarra for sticking by steel workers and giving them support, it's been a fight from everybody in this region," Mr Phillips said.

The Fair Work Commission will process the new agreement, and it's expected to be in place from Wednesday.

It's not compensation but supply and demand.  Market forces.

The company must react to market forces or it goes broke.  If it goes broke everyone loses their job.

Friggin common sense.  Something completely lacking in the Union movement for decades.

Every time I have seen this done in the past it has backfired on the workers, the process of trying to stay alive the employers have run the company down so far that any possibility of them paying out their employees when it eventually falls over is gone. The employers take the pay cut and in the end finish up with nothing.

Employees taking cuts to pay and conditions does not solve a companies problems when management has run the ship aground. Mostly what happens is that the fundamental business problems are still present. Wages and conditions are never the real problem.

This is a re hash of the same story posted several times now.

we could still have a viable car industry here in Australia if it weren't for the greedy Unions, Workers and Directors...

but no matter... while we sit around here whinging about who's to blame other countries will just laugh at us and gear up their own car and manufacturing industries..

Unions are supposed to represent people and they collected will. 

So Swag (and other libs) happy that workers are paid less.  Not surprised.