The City of Toronto has requested a no board report from the Ontario Ministry of Labour after talks reached a deadlock with CUPE Local 79, which represents about 23,000 inside workers

“We’ve reached an impasse,” deputy mayor Doug Holyday told CityNews Friday.

“The next step for us is to ask the minister for a no board report...That’s what we’ve found works.”

If approved, both sides would be in a legal position for a work stoppage as early as March 24.

Holyday said he could not get into all the details of the contacts, but did say there was a so-called “jobs-for-life” clause in the current collective agreement. That  provision was one of the main contentious issues in talks between the city and another union representing outside workers.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 79 represents approximately 23,000 inside workers in four collective agreements.

"We're hoping the city will engage in meaningful discussion...rather than threatening tactics," Local 79 president Tim Maguire said at city hall Friday.

Local 79 represents thousands of part-time workers, Maguire said, and they're benefits are being threatened.

On Thursday, the union representing Toronto public library workers was granted a no board report from the Ontario Labour Relations Board, and both sides in the bargaining talks would be in a legal strike or lockout position at 12:01 a.m. March 18.

The city and Local 79 have been bargaining since Oct. 4, 2011. The current agreement expired on Dec. 31, 2011.

On Feb. 15, after rounds of tense negotiations, city councillors unanimously approved a deal with CUPE Local 416, which represents nearly 6,000 outside workers. The new deal that includes a six per cent pay hike over the term of the four-year contract.