The company strives to protect the rights stated in the Statute of Children and Adolescents

ABOLITION OF CHILD LABOR

principle 5 Businesses should uphold the effective abolition of child labor

In Brazil, as defined by law, candidates for Petrobras public selection examinations must be over 18 years old. The result is that there is no major risk of the occurrence of child labor in its administrative activities and operations.

Apresentação da Filarmônica Santa Bárbara, em Laranjeiras, em Sergipe
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Besides complying with this legal determination, Petrobras seeks to ensure that there are no cases of child labor in its supplier chain, as agreed in the Code of Ethics and the Social Responsibility Policy. This is why the company also includes in all its goods and services procurement contracts a specific clause stressing the ban on child labor.

With regard to the contribution to abolishing this type of practice, each year Petrobras transfers contributions to the Fund for Childhood and Adolescence (FIA), for the protection of the rights stated in the Statute of Children and Adolescents.

Half of the resources are allocated to municipalities of areas where Petrobras operates, identified by the program Keeping an Eye on the Environment with a Childhood Development Index (IDI) below the Brazilian average. The destination of the remaining 50% is decided by the FIA Committee, which is composed of two Petrobras representatives and seven representatives of the following institutions: Press Agency for Children’s Rights (Andi), Brazilian Council of the Rights of Children and Adolescents (Conanda), United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef), Brazilian Association of Magistrates, State Attorneys and Public Defenders of Childhood and Youth (ABMP), Community Image Association, Escola de Gente NGO and the Afroreggae Cultural Group.

In 2008, R$ 48.5 million was allocated to the Councils of Rights of Children and Adolescents throughout Brazil, for projects in 2009. As regards the contribution made in 2007, 200 projects of 301 Councils were undertaken during 2008, attending about 112,000 children and adolescents. The transfer is deducted from income tax and the amount limited to 1% of the year profit, as provided by Brazilian law.

ON THE RIGHT ROAD

For five years, the Caravan On the Right Road Truck Driver has traveled the Brazilian roads in order to make Brazilian society, especially the transportation sector, aware of the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, violence against women, safety on the roads, rational use of fuel and environmental preservation. In 2008, 30,000 kilometers of Brazilian roads were covered, through 57 towns in 12 states. These actions had the direct participation of 8,054 truck drivers and 5,249 children in 100 social projects.

One of the main actions of the On the Right Road Truck Driver is the On the Right Road program for children, which informs and makes truck drivers aware of their important role in protecting children and adolescents. They were all invited to join the campaign and publicize Dial 100 – Dial National Denunciation of Abuse and Sexual Exploitation against Children and Adolescents, a direct dialing service toll free in all Brazilian states, coordinated and executed by the Federal Government Special Human Rights Bureau (SEDH), in partnership with Petrobras and the Center of Reference, Studies and Action about Children and Adolescents (Cecria).

The actions of On the Right Road have contributed significantly to combating sexual violence against children and adolescents. This is noticeable by the increase in denunciations recorded by Dial 100. In the year in which the Caravan was launched, the Dial Denunciation received daily, on average, 12 denunciations against child exploitation. Today, it records an average of 94 denunciations per day.

THE MILLENNIUM GOALS FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS IN THE BRAZILIAN SEMI-ARID REGION

The project contributes to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for children and adolescents in approximately 1,400 municipalities in the semi-arid region of Brazil, thereby creating all the necessary conditions for achieving their goals and receiving the Unicef Municipal Seal of Approval. The seal is a contribution to the National Pact A World for Children and Adolescents in the semi-arid region, a project that brings together governments, civil society and companies to guarantee the rights of each child and adolescent.

Of the 1,416 municipalities in the region, 1,130 – where 10.6 million children live – formally joined the initiative in the edition 2007-2008. Seventy-nine percent of the municipalities registered requested assessment of the their local government administration, and 259 obtained the seal. The winning results show an evolution up to five times more than the Brazilian average for the same period.

In 2008, 9,119 professionals (advisers, promoters, public managers, adolescents and young adults, educators and technical staff, communicators and sports instructors) and 1,015 focal points were also capacitated in the methodology and contents required to achieve the goals.

PETROBRAS YOUTH APPRENTICE PROGRAM

Launched in April 2006, the aim of the Petrobras Youth Apprentice Program is to promote social inclusion by means of professional training of adolescents in a situation of social vulnerability, thereby contributing to the inclusion of these apprentices in the labor market.

The program offers fixed employment, a maximum four-hour day’s work, full minimum wage, meal tickets and transportation vouchers, Christmas bonus, holidays coinciding with school breaks, FGTS and INSS [employment severance allowance and social security]. In 2008, 2,389 young people from all over Brazil were trained by the program with an investment of R$ 19.76 million.