diff --git a/locust/runners.py b/locust/runners.py
index 970d2b03b1..32d8b3932b 100644
--- a/locust/runners.py
+++ b/locust/runners.py
@@ -350,7 +350,7 @@ def slave_count(self):
 class SlaveLocustRunner(DistributedLocustRunner):
     def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
         super(SlaveLocustRunner, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs)
-        self.client_id = socket.gethostname() + "_" + md5(str(time() + random.randint(0,10000))).hexdigest()
+        self.client_id = socket.gethostname() + "_" + md5(str(time() + random.randint(0,10000)).encode('utf-8')).hexdigest()
         
         self.client = rpc.Client(self.master_host, self.master_port)
         self.greenlet = Group()