Commuters around the country must once again look for alternative transport as the nationwide bus strike enters its sixth day with no end.

The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) says it is unclear when a new round of wage talks between unions and bus company bosses will resume after the parties failed to reach an agreement on Friday.

The unions are refusing to back down from their demands and are calling on bus drivers to intensify the strike.

News24 on Monday reported that at the start of the negotiations the workers demanded a 12% increase to which the employers responded with an offer of 7%. The workers have since rejected an offer of 8% for the first year, and 8.5% in the second year, instead proposing a 9.5% increase in the first year and 9% for the second.

Satawu spokesperson Zanele Sabela says the bus strike will continue and they will intensify the action.  “We are calling on non-unionised members to down tools in order to put more pressure on employers to give us what we want.”

The strike, which started last week Wednesday, has left millions of commuters around the country stranded.