TORONTO - Ontario Catholic school teachers have signed a deal with the province, ensuring that students will not be confronted with job action when they head back to class in the fall.

But the remaining teacher unions have walked away from provincial discussion tables, and members of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario have voted overwhelmingly to support a "one-day walkout" to protect their collective agreements.

The Dalton McGuinty government has been proud of its record of no lost teaching days to labour strife.

"I want to make it clear that we remain willing to work with our other education partners at the provincial level," Education Minister Laurel Broten said Thursday. "I invite the other unions and trustee associations on behalf of school boards to engage in meaningful discussions with each other and with the government."

The Ontario government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) that allows for a zero salary increase in each of its two years.

The province had also been seeking to freeze movement along the salary grid that rewards experience and qualifications.

Instead, English Catholic school teachers will take three unpaid professional development days -- the equivalent of a 1.5% pay cut -- to allow movement on the pay grid to continue, Broten said.

Asked if teachers would be required to show up for unpaid PD days, Broten said only that there is no requirement for any teacher to attend a PD day.

The retirement gratuity benefit that allowed teachers to accumulate sick days and cash them out when they leave the system will be scrapped in favour of a restructured short-term sick leave plan with up to 10 sick days a year, the province says.

While OECTA will still negotiate with local school boards, the provincial government's demand that there be a salary freeze and end to sick day cash outs were considered major stumbling blocks to agreements.