Dave Boreland celebrates 30 years as an employee at Sydney Steel Mill

Steelmaker, AWU Branch Executive Member and AWU Site Delegate Dave Boreland recently celebrated an impressive anniversary, marking 30 years as an employee at Sydney Steel Mill.

Dave has worked in a number of roles over the decades, including on the shop floor, in the warehouse, as a crane operator and more. He also serves as the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) Senior Site Delegate and Branch Executive Member, having joined the AWU shortly after starting in the job in July 1994.

“AWU membership on site is around 90 per cent, with about 225 members in total, so most new starters are keen to join and gain the benefits of union representation,” he says.

These benefits include regular pay increases to keep up with the rising cost of living, as well as quarterly bonuses, which the AWU negotiates as part of the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement process.

“On average we get [pay increases of] around 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent a year,” Dave says.

“We also have a quarterly bonus that the union fights for and negotiates,” although he notes that “sometimes it’s like getting blood out of a stone.”

“My fellow delegates help with recruitment on their shifts, of which there are 13 all up including maintenance crews and dayshift.”

As well as negotiating for better pay and conditions, ensuring the safety of workers in the high-pressure steel mill environment is another critical issue the union is heavily involved with.

“The steel goes through rollers but sometimes … it doesn’t go through,” Dave says.

Instead, he explains, “it goes up and hits the roof and … a red-hot bar going about 50 kilometres per hour will jump out and go any way it wants.”

“I’ve seen that happen … there are places to stand and places not to stand.”

Avoiding accidents has become a major focus for Dave recently.

“Over the last few years AWU-trained health and safety representatives have made a big difference to members’ safety on issues such as manning and performing tasks correctly.” he says.

One of the major workplace safety changes Dave has seen over his career has been the lockout system, which was introduced around 20 years ago.

When working on stopped machinery, Dave explains, “you’d just put your tag on the machine. You were relying on no one turning the equipment on because your tag was on it.”

“Now, you throw an isolation switch and put a padlock on it, so the machine physically can’t be turned on. It’s made the mill a much safer place to work.”

Other major changes Dave has witnessed include a variety of IT upgrades, the most recent of which has been “very challenging, with one system being replaced with four integrated systems and a lot of retraining required,” and the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“While COVID brought favourable market conditions due to reduced imports, it made for difficult operating conditions, with staggered start times, social distancing and reduced staffing levels due to illness,” Dave says.

Dave has had BHP, OneSteel, Arrium, GFG, Liberty and now InfraBuild embroidered on his hi-vis throughout his 30 years at Sydney Steel Mill with the site changing hands multiple times, but through all the many changes Dave has seen in the industry since 1994, “the AWU has been one constant,” he says.

As Senior Site Delegate, Dave is always on hand to support AWU members facing issues at work, whether it be around rostering or run-ins with management. If workers are facing disciplinary issues or the company “thinks they’ve done something wrong, I go in and defend them,” Dave says.

“Pretty much [all of the time] we get it sorted on site,” although, getting Union Organisers involved is always an option if an issue escalates.

“There’s a feeling on site that everybody belongs, and it has always been that way – stronger together. Through the help of the Union, we’ve had some great wins in pay and conditions.

“I’m grateful and proud to be Union.” – Dave Boreland, AWU Delegate and Branch Executive Member.