Workers at Brighton and Hove City Council threatened strike action on Monday after being told to accept a pay cut of up to £10,000 or join the dole queue.

The Tory-controlled council is attempting to implement equal pay by dragging male workers’ wages down to the level of women workers, local government unions GMB and UNISON said.

The approach is similar to that taken by Leeds council, which has sparked a weeks-long strike.

Brighton and Hove City Council has offered to “buy out” the male workers with an undisclosed one-off payment in exchange for legally binding agreements to sign inferior contracts from January 1 2010 – costing each worker up to £10,000 in annual pay.

Both unions have rejected the offer and are in the process of balloting members for strike action.

GMB branch secretary Mark Turner said on Monday: “This is the ‘caring, sharing’ Tory plan that David Cameron wants to apply to the rest of the country if he is elected.”

Fresh out of a negotiations meeting, Mr Turner added: “We have just been told by the council that they don’t have an improved offer.

“This has severed all further negotiations as far as the GMB is concerned. We will put our efforts into getting a Yes vote for strike action.”

Mr Turner urged the government to apply the NHS Agenda for Change formula to the local council equal-pay settlements to avoid the practice of reducing wages.

“This means centrally run, centrally negotiated settlements that will then be bankrolled nationally by the government,” he argued.

The GMB ballot will begin on Thursday and finish on November 29.