Council services could come to a halt as the threat of strike action hangs over Britain's fourth biggest metropolitan authority today.

Unions representing thousands of staff have failed to agree with the management over new terms and conditions which Chief Executive Ian Stewart wants to implement.

The dispute could lead to stoppages by about half of the Council's 23,000 workforce.

Only teachers, who have separate terms, would be excluded if staff agreed to stop work.

Members of Unison, the GMB, Union of Construction and Allied Trades and the Transport and General Workers Union have already voted in favour of a ballot on industrial action if the new terms are implemented.

The workers say they believe the new packages will be "a short track to dismissal". A main stumbling block is a clause in the current contract which covers redeployment and retraining. The staff say its removal would lead to redundancies, but management has told them the clause has been found to be unlawful.

Management says the aim is to improve conditions for staff and protect jobs.

Unison branch chairman Liz Devlin said they had asked the management to withdraw the new package but that had not happened.

The dispute will go to a panel of eight councillors from all three main political parties unless agreement is reached.

Miss Devlin said: "The unions have already got a mandate for a ballot on industrial action if the terms and conditions are imposed without agreement. Feeling is strong about this.

"If strike action is agreed, the unions will recommend a half day, all-out strike and selective stoppages."

If the dispute reached that stage, members would also withdraw their co-operation from the current restructuring of the Council, she added.

Mr Stewart said he was disappointed the differences had not been settled, but was "desperately anxious" to talk to the unions.

Labour group leader Councillor Ian Greenwood commented: "We would look to try to ensure that we came to a rational and reasonable agreement."

And leader of the Liberal Democrat group Councillor Jeanette Sunderland said: "I wish we could work together to reach an agreement."