Newfoundland and Labrador's governing Progressive Conservatives are brushing off criticism that senior staff in the premier's office are overpaid.

Opposition leader Gerry Reid peppered the government side with questions in the legislature on Tuesday, about what he dubbed "massive" pay hikes approved for seven employees in Premier Danny Williams's office.

Opposition leader Gerry Reid describes new salary increases in the premier's office as 'massive.'
(CBC)

"Do you agree with the premier, that fish plant workers should take a pay cut while his staff, his own personal staff on the eighth floor, should receive massive increases in pay?" Reid asked the government side. Williams was in Toronto, attending a premiers' meeting.

Reid added that the raises — made following reclassifications — are counter to the belt-tightening wages that the government has imposed on the civil service since taking power in 2003.

"Do you support such significant wage increases for the premier's staff when your department imposed a two-year wage freeze on all public sector employees and just gave them a modest three per cent increase?" Reid asked.

Rideout, the deputy premier, defended the new pay rates.

"Those staff are worth their weight in gold. They provide great service to the people of this province," Rideout said.

"[Reid] did not say, Mr. Speaker, for example, that Elizabeth Matthews, the director of communications in the premier's office, with her reclassification and her salary increase, will still make less money than was paid to the incumbent who worked for Premier Grimes when he was there, $103,000," Rideout told the house of assembly.

Matthews's salary was raised by more than 13 per cent, to $102,000.

Brian Crawley, Williams's chief of staff, now earns $131,000 per year, up about eight per cent.

Rideout told the legislature the salaries in the premier's office were raised to bring them in line with comparable positions in the senior civil service.

Later, in debate in the house of assembly, Liberal MHA George Sweeney said the cost of running the premier's office during the last Liberal government was nonetheless cheaper than under the current PC government. He said former premier Roger Grimes's staff of 15 cost about $900,000, while Williams's staff of 21 costs about $1.3 million.