Tributer System

The tributer system was a labor arrangement used in some asbestos and other mineral mines in which small teams of miners (called tributers) worked a defined section of the mine and were paid based on the quantity or quality of ore they extracted, rather than receiving a fixed wage. The system shifted financial risk and many operational decisions onto the workers themselves, including decisions about ventilation, dust control, and equipment. It was common in Cape Province asbestos mines in South Africa and in some Australian and British operations into the mid-twentieth century.

Origin

The term derives from the Cornish and British tin and copper mining tradition, where 'tributers' bid on or were assigned ore-bearing ground and were paid a 'tribute', a share of the value of what they produced. The system was exported to colonial mining operations, including the South African asbestos fields, during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Significance in Asbestos Context

For patients whose exposure traces back to South African crocidolite or amosite mines, or to family members who worked there, the tributer system helps explain why dust exposures were often extreme and poorly documented. Because tributers were paid by production and operated semi-independently, mine owners frequently disclaimed responsibility for working conditions, ventilation, and protective measures, even as they profited from the ore. Women and children were widely used as 'cobbers' to hand-sort fiber on surface dumps under this system, creating heavy secondary exposures. Understanding this labor structure can be important when reconstructing an exposure history, identifying the responsible corporate entities (such as Cape Asbestos or Gefco), and countering defense arguments that workers were 'independent' rather than employees of the mining company.

Example Sentence

His lawyer explained that because his father had worked as a tributer in a Northern Cape crocidolite mine in the 1950s, establishing the corporate chain of responsibility would require historical records showing how Cape Asbestos controlled the operation despite the tributer labor arrangement.

Related Terms

Crocidolite, Cape Asbestos, Cobbing, Wittenoom, Occupational Exposure, Secondary Exposure

Notes

• If you or a family member worked under a tributer or similar contract arrangement in an asbestos mine, gather any pay slips, contract documents, or company correspondence. These help prove the connection between the worker and the controlling company.
• Ask older family members specifically whether women or children helped sort, bag, or carry fiber at home or on mine dumps; these exposures are compensable in many jurisdictions and were common under the tributer system.
• For South African mine exposures, the Asbestos Relief Trust and the Kgalagadi Relief Trust administer compensation funds and accept historical employment evidence even when formal records are missing.
• Tell your medical team about mining-family exposures even if you never worked in the mine yourself; environmental and household exposure under the tributer system has caused mesothelioma decades later.