School bus drivers serving several communities east of Toronto are on strike after contract talks between Unifor and First Student Bowmanville broke off Tuesday night.

The walkout affects routes in the Durham, Durham Catholic, Kawartha Pine Ridge and the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Boards.

5:30 a.m., Wednesday, March 21, 2018 – First Student Bus Driver union has decided to proceed with a strike. All First Student bus routing is suspended until further notice. Please visit https://t.co/QQ8r9HKsVv for more information. — stsco.ca (@stsco_ca) March 21, 2018

Unifor Local 4268 says bargaining broke off shortly before the strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. over the key issues are of unpaid work hours and wages.

The drivers have been working without a contract since Aug. 31, 2017, and have been in a legal strike position since Dec. 10, 2017.

Parents are advised to visit the Student Transportation Services for Central Ontario and Durham Student Transportation Services websites for school listings and cancellation notices.

“It’s important that our kids get to school safely and that means well trained, responsible drivers,” said local president Debbie Montgomery.

“The industry can’t attract and keep quality drivers if they don’t earn a wage that reflects the responsibilities that they have in the performance of their duties.”

Click here for a full list of the schools affected in the Durham District School Broad.

Click here for a full list of the schools affected in Durham Catholic District School Broad.

Click here for a full list of the schools affected in the Kawartha Pine Ridge, and the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District school boards.