Deputy Minister Nalin Hewage has sparked outrage across Sri Lanka’s three-wheeler industry after suggesting that driving for hire should be banned for anyone under the age of 40, a statement critics describe as insensitive and disconnected from the country’s economic reality.
Speaking at a public rally, Hewage proposed the age restriction, framing it as a measure to encourage younger citizens to seek more meaningful employment. The comment has triggered widespread anger among the estimated one million three-wheeler drivers who depend on the trade for their daily survival.
Also, for Most three-wheeler drivers, this is not a career of choice but a career of necessity. With formal sector employment scarce and youth unemployment persistently high, the three-wheeler industry has become an economic safety net for families across the island. The investment required to enter the trade is substantial, with a new three-wheeler now costing upwards of two million rupees. Also, drivers operate without any social security, medical coverage, or pension protections, earning just enough from daily rides to keep their households afloat.
Hewage’s remarks reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the structural crisis gripping Sri Lanka’s labour market. Young people are not turning to three-wheeler driving because they wish to waste their time or avoid productive work. They are doing so because the state has failed to provide meaningful opportunities that offer adequate compensation for their labour. The informal economy has absorbed what formal employment could not, and three-wheeler driving has become a last resort for thousands of families with no other option.
The industry is already suffering from soaring vehicle costs, rising fuel prices, and declining passenger demand in a sluggish economy. Adding a blanket age restriction would devastate countless households, stripping young breadwinners of their only source of income while offering no alternative path to stable employment.If the government is serious about reducing the number of young people in the three-wheeler trade, it must address the root causes: a stagnant economy, insufficient job creation, and wages that fail to meet the cost of living. Demonising drivers and proposing punitive restrictions will not solve the problem. It will only punish those who are already struggling.