Labour's furious at some of the salaries earned by staff at the Ministry of Social Development.

It says 53 ministry employees are making more than $200,000 a year.

Social Development spokeswoman Carmel Sepuloni says that's more twice the number who earned that salary five years ago.

She's also criticising spending on leadership workshops, which has reached almost $800,000.

Ms Sepuloni says there's something deeply offensive about MSD paying such high salaries, when it's not only demanding belt-tightening from everyone else but also forcing some clients to take lessons to better manage their budgets.