Various SWK bus routes are expected to be canceled Thursday and Friday as drivers participate in a nationwide strike against their employers unions over better wages and working conditions. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Bus drivers in the Kaiserslautern area are slated to strike Thursday and Friday as part of a weeklong protest over wage disputes, according to United Services Workers Union Ver.di.

The drivers’ union has called for the action after the third round of talks with the employers union ended without a resolution last Friday.

The strike, starting at 3 a.m. Thursday ,will affect all operations of SWK and various lines of the VRN transport network serving the region. SWK announced that all of its routes will be canceled. The popular bus transporting Kaiserslautern’s night owls in the early hours of Saturday also won’t be running, the company announced.

Concurrently, drivers at private bus contractors won’t be working due to a separate dispute, resulting in expected disruptions to the entire rural and urban transport system in Rheinland-Pfalz, the union said.

Ver.di criticized the employers’ association for missing a critical opportunity to avert the strike by failing to present a negotiable offer last week. Demands include improved working conditions, including increased pay supplements, holiday pay, and fairer treatment of vehicle delays and turn-around times.

The next negotiation meeting is slated for March 12, when a failure to reach an agreement could result in an indefinite strike, according to the union statement Tuesday.