EIGHT people have been arrested after scuffling with police at a protest at Sydney University.
Academics and other staff, who are locked in a pay dispute with management, began their protest at 7am (AEST) on Wednesday with a blockade at City Road and Eastern Avenue, police said.
A group of protesters then moved towards the university gates on Carillon Avenue just before 9am, blocking the road.
When police attempted to move the protesters, a scuffle broke out and eight people were arrested.
They are expected to be charged with resisting arrest at Newtown police station.
Another march has been organised by the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) at 12.30pm on Wednesday as part of its planned 24 hours of industrial action.
This follows rallies at the same university during May, in which protesters clashed with police and reportedly blocked vehicles from entering the campus by sitting on roads.
The NTEU said the latest action comes after 10 months of enterprise bargaining and is designed to bolster job security.
National Union of Students president Jade Tyrrell said the clampdown on the "peaceful protest" was reminiscent of a "police state".
"All students should have the right to participate in peaceful protests on issues that directly affect their future," Ms Tyrrell said.
"It's clear that students at the University of Sydney participating in the strike today feel intimidated and the kind of police violence reported from the riot squad is not acceptable.
"It sends the message that we are living in a police state."
Ms Tyrrell said the university must commit to allowing strike action to go ahead in the future.
"Allowing people to the right of public assembly without police brutality encourages a healthy democracy," she said.
Sydney University employee Donald Barrett says police arrested several protesters after they sat down near the university gates.
"Some students were arrested in Carillon Avenue simply for sitting down in the middle of the road," Mr Barrett told AAP.
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