But an Illawarra politician has labelled their comments "cheap pot shots".

Representatives from the South Coast Labour Council and other unions were in Canberra on Wednesday and Thursday, lobbying politicians to support the mandated use of Australian steel in government projects.

At the same time, Illawarra Business Chamber (IBC) chief executive Debra Murphy and regional manager of the Australian Industry Group (AiG) Leanne Grogan asked what the unions were actually doing to help BlueScope survive.

"While the unions are busy calling on the government and taxpayers to 'save our steelworks' we question what they themselves are doing to support the game-changing transformation needed to boost BlueScope's global competitiveness," Ms Murphy said.

Ms Grogan said the unions "will have to show leadership and work constructively together to meet the challenge facing BlueScope, its employees and the Illawarra community".

"We all need to put the way we did things in the past behind us, take some pain if we have to and focus on doing what it takes to ensure the viability of the manufacturing industry in this region," Ms Grogan said.

The comments drew criticism from Shellharbour MP Anna Watson, who pointed out BlueScope was a member of both employer groups.

"The last thing we need in this region is business community representatives seeking to stoke and provoke unnecessary conflict by taking cheap pot shots at workers and unions in the steel industry in the region," Ms Watson said.

"These workers have shouldered the burden directly of steel industry restructuring over the last 31 years.

"They don't need lectures from the IBC and AiG about how to conduct themselves as they face another crisis," she said.