A 30 percent increase in the number of Canterbury District Health Board workers earning six-figure salaries has been slammed as "outrageous" by a public health advocate.
But the board has defended the pay rises, saying some staff had received backdated pay increases and most in the top pay brackets were in clinical roles.
The increase has led to more than 700 employees receiving salaries of more than $100,000, including 607 medical staff and 60 management and administration staff, the Press reported.
The board's annual report showed the number of medical staff earning six-figure salaries in the 2008-09 financial year increased to 607, up from 491 the previous year, while the number of management and administration staff receiving more than $100,000 increased from 45 to 60.
The sharpest increase was in the $300,000 to $400,000 pay bracket, with numbers quadrupling from six to 24.
Health Cuts Hurt spokeswoman Heather Carter said the increases were "outrageous" given the tough financial times.
"People at the bottom need better salaries and wages than they have, and people in that upper limit are just creaming it, basically."
A board spokeswoman said wage increases were part of collective agreements for medical, nursing and allied health staff settled in 2007 and 2008, and the contracts would be renegotiated next year.
The board was in better financial health than predicted, with a $12.4 million deficit coming in well under a predicted $20 million shortfall.
NZPA