Teachers in British Columbia are outraged at legislation introduced by the government that would restrict their right to strike by deeming education to be an essential service.

That would make B.C. the only province to have made such a declaration.

And while the teachers are angry at the provisions contained in Bill 18, the province's business community likes it.

Bill 18 says no child's right to an education will be denied, even if teachers or janitors strike.

That means the government can ask the Labour Relations Board to force unions to maintain a certain level of service.

David Chudnovsky, president of the B.C. Teachers Federation, says the province is trampling on teachers' power to bargain.

"Teachers are tremendously frustrated and angry," he said. "This bill makes conflict, tension and disruption in our schools much more likely this fall."

B.C. Labour Minister Graham Bruce disagrees with the critics.

"It would be wrong to categorize this as an attack on labour," he said. "Clearly, it is not."

He says the bill protects children at school and restores the rights of individual workers.

But business leaders are applauding the new bill and its changes to the Labour Code, including new regulations for union certification and elimination of sector-wide bargaining for unionized construction workers.