A midnight strike-lockout deadline affecting thousands of civic workers in Toronto has passed, but both sides continued bargaining early Friday in an effort to avoid a work stoppage.

CUPE local 416, which represents the city's outside workers, have been in a strike-lockout position as of 12:01 a.m. ET Friday while inside workers represented by CUPE local 79 has its own deadline of 12:01 a.m. ET on Feb. 20.

The unions have accused the city of proposing major cuts at the bargaining table while the municipality cites "financial circumstances" as a reason to curb costs.

READ MORE: City presents plan for strike or lockout; garbage pickup, child care, community centres impacted

Local 416 represents 5,400 outside workers, including garbage collectors and parks staff while Local 79 represents 23,100 inside workers, including nurses, social service employees and ambulance dispatchers.

Both unions have been without a contract since the end of 2015.

City child care, community centres and garbage collection east of Yonge Street are among the services that will be shut down if a deal doesn't come together.

Essential services like paramedics and long-term care homes won't be affected and other municipal services such as transit, police, fire services, community housing and all but four library branches will continue as normal.

VIDEO: City strike or lockout looms as negotiations reach an impasse

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With file from The Canadian Press