The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) said that management “blindsided our bargaining team by making a lower wage offer than any other union-agreed pay-rise in the higher education sector.”

The quality of the staff and student experience at the University of Sydney is suffering.

Senate Fellow Ilana Atlas is on the board of the Paul Ramsay Foundation

Normally, the biennial poll at the tertiary union's Sydney branch is uncontested.

Victoria Zerbst reports.