‘Zoom picketing’: students protest Sydney University staff cuts by disrupting online tutorials

Sydney University has threatened students striking for better staff working conditions with suspension for shutting down online tutorials via the new digital protest tactic of "Zoom picketing".

As students blocked seven entrances to the campus across Thursday and Friday, dozens more logged in to online tutorials with distributed links. The university had recommended teachers move their sessions to virtual meeting platform Zoom to avoid being impacted by the strikes.

It was the National Tertiary Education Union's third industrial action since May.

A Sydney University student who uses the online alias "Sean" was among three students threatened with disciplinary action in August when they attempted the tactic.

It was the first time protestors had used Zoom picketing, in addition to physical picket lines, by inundating digital tutorials with strikers who would attempt to force the shutdown of sessions. Once a tutorial link was acquired, protestors logged into the session en masse, disrupting the class by talking over the lecturer until teaching became unfeasible.

This week, dozens of classes were disrupted or cancelled across the campus and online. Many more were cancelled ahead of the strikes.

"Management's tactic was to move classes on Zoom, so they could jump over it," Sean said. "This is the evolution of strike tactics: we've taken the principles of picketing and applied them to Zoom.

"At the end of the day, the students will find ways to escalate."

On Monday, deputy vice-chancellor Prof Annamarie Jagose emailed staff recommending they work remotely and hold classes online to "minimise disruption" during the strikes.

"Strikes have not to date and will not in future affect the university's bargaining position but will result in more loss of pay for participants," she wrote.

Jagose said the NTEU was "on notice" that it would be taking "unlawful and unprotected action" if it "continued with its approach".

"Let me be very clear about this. Seeking to impose bans or limitations on other staff or to disrupt online classes is not protected action and is unlawful."

NTEU's president, Nick Riemer, said demands were threefold - ending casualisation of the workforce, safeguarding academics' rights to a fixed proportion of research and negotiating a pay rise above inflation.

Since bargaining began 15 months ago, the university has agreed to greater flexible working arrangements, mental health training for staff, bolstered leave entitlements and the hiring of an additional 300 continuing academic staff.

Riemer said it was not enough. He said the university was entering "the most protracted period of industrial unrest" in its history, while there'd been "no dialogue whatsoever" throughout the process.

Dani Cotton, a branch representative with the NTEU, said management had tried to use the accessibility of Zoom classes to undercut the ability to strike.

A spokesperson for Sydney University said it had some of the "highest wages and best conditions" of any university in Australia and the university remained "open and operational" throughout the industrial action.

"The NTEU members engaging in industrial action are a minority of our staff and the majority of classes are being delivered as planned."