SkyCity Auckland casino workers walked off the job tonight in a fight for better pay.

About 50 to 60 workers congregated outside the Auckland city casino on Victoria Street with placards and flags. A Unite Union truck had a loudspeaker blaring support for the workers as the Saturday night crowd wandered to and from the casino.

The workers want to be paid the living wage but instead 90 per cent of staff have been offered a pay rise of between 4 and 6 per cent, which was well below inflation, Unite Union advocate Mike Treen said. “[It’s] effectively a pay cut.”

The strike began at 6pm.