New Zealand casino staff forced to wear flea collars

Workers at the SkyCity casino in Auckland are having to spray themselves with insect repellent and wear flea collars to keep from being bitten on the job. Employees have complained about infestations on the casino floor for years and, despite the carpet and areas around gaming machines being cleaned regularly, the problem has persisted.

Unite Union national director Mike Treen said workers had been complaining to SkyCity management, as well as the union, for years. He knew of a number of workers who attached flea collars to their ankles to stop being bitten.



"Some of them have them on to try and prevent being bitten. Some people react quite badly - [they] get really bad spots and it can affect their health and then result in time off. It's definitely a health and safety issue." Mr Treen said workers were also provided with cans of flea repellent - if they wanted them - so they could spray themselves before starting work.

The union said part of the ongoing problem was that casino management were unwilling to shut the floor down for a day because they would lose too much money. "It's just about 24-hour, seven-day business," Mr Treen said. SkyCity said that the casino floors were cleaned every day.