AI jobs war erupts at Sydney university as staff walk out

Classrooms at the University of Sydney’s Camperdown campus fell unusually quiet on Wednesday as hundreds of staff walked off the job amid a growing dispute over artificial intelligence, workloads and job security.

Up to 600 staff members established picket lines across campus entrances as part of a 24-hour strike, forcing most classes online and shutting laboratories. The action, led by the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), highlights mounting tensions across higher education as universities increasingly integrate AI into teaching.

Alongside claims for a 20 per cent pay rise and 17 per cent superannuation for casual staff, the union is seeking legally binding protections governing artificial intelligence, including guarantees AI will not be used to cut jobs or replace human interaction in teaching.

NTEU NSW secretary Vince Caughley said academics were already seeing AI avatars and chatbots used in course delivery.

“For us, it’s not simply about our jobs. It’s about the nature of what a university is,” Caughley said.

The University of Sydney has positioned itself as one of Australia’s most enthusiastic adopters of AI, with academics using its custom-built platform Cogniti to create chatbots and interactive learning tools.

Tensions escalated after the university released a discussion paper last month outlining a future in which AI could provide personalised learning support to students while reducing staff-student contact hours.

The proposal intensified concerns among academics that automated systems could eventually lead to job cuts and fewer staff teaching larger student cohorts.

Computer science lecturer Alan Fekete, who has taught at the university for 38 years, said staff were already managing heavier workloads.

“The fact that they keep putting up the work we have to do, and having fewer people to do it, increases the stress and increases the risks of losing one’s job,” Fekete said.

As part of enterprise bargaining negotiations, the union is also seeking consultation over AI deployment, transparency around algorithms and the right for staff to challenge automated decisions.

The university, in a statement, described the strike action as “premature” and said it was committed to engaging at the bargaining table.

“Human judgment, accountability and relationships are essential to everything we do, and can never be replaced by technology,” the spokeswoman said.

The strike comes as universities grapple with broader financial pressures. Despite generating $1.7 billion in international student revenue last financial year, the University of Sydney’s surplus fell from $545 million to $194 million.