Presenters on Dutch public broadcasting channels are to face the same salary restrictions as other public sector workers and earn no more than €181,000 a year, ministers have decided.

The new pay limit, the same salary as a government minister, should also apply to senior health care officials, ministers say. The salary ceiling has been in place for public sector executives for several years.

Introducing a ceiling on salaries will boost confidence in the public sector, home affairs minister Ronald Plasterk said in a statement. ‘Organisations which carry out a public duties, paid by the taxpayer or through premiums, must be paid a socially acceptable salary,’ the statement said.

Several high profile presenters are known to earn well above the new limit, broadcaster RTL said.

Matthijs van Nieuwkerk, who presents the popular chat show De Wereld Draaijt Door, earned some €580,000 in 2015. DJ Giel Beelen and presenters Paul de Leeuw, Antoinette Hertsenberg and Jeroen Pauw are also thought to be among the sector’s high earners.

Medical specialists and air traffic controllers are not covered by the legislation.