Philip Morris gets gold star from gender watchdog

TOBACCO giant Philip Morris may cause “untold harm” to families, but the federal government has just handed it a prestigious award.

Philip Morris is one of several major tobacco companies to unsuccessfully challenge the Australian government’s plain packaging laws. Picture: Alan Pryke/Newspix/Rex Features

TOBACCO giant Philip Morris may be causing “untold harm” to Australian families, “causing deaths from cancer, lung and heart disease”, but according to the government, it’s a pretty great place to work.

The $100 billion company behind Malboro and Longbeach, which sells more than 870 billion cigarettes a year, has been given a gold star by the federal government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency, as an “EOCGE”, or Employer of Choice for Gender Equality.

Philip Morris, which has around 500 Australian employees, is one of 106 “citation holders” this year, up from 90 last year and 76 in 2014. It’s the second year in a row the tobacco company has been named in the list.

“Employers increasingly recognise that equal participation by women and men at all levels of an organisation is good for workplace culture and performance,” the agency’s director Libby Lyons said.

“WGEA data shows there is progress towards gender equality in Australian workplaces, but it is too slow. It is only through more employers taking the initiative to promote gender equality in the workplace that we will see the pace of change pick up.

“That is why it is so encouraging to see more than 100 organisations meet the very high standard required to receive the WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality citation this year.

“It is encouraging to see some new citation holders this year in diverse fields including transport, engineering, manufacturing, insurance and law.

“Each industry has its own gender equality challenges. We hope all EOCGE citation holders can drive change in their own organisations as well as playing a leadership role to promote gender equality across their industries.”

Philip Morris said it had a strong, flexible work program, equal pay for women, 12 weeks paid parental leave and a 50-50 gender mix hiring policy.

“We are proud to receive our second consecutive citation, which demonstrates Philip Morris Australia is a leader in this country and a leading affiliate for gender equality, diversity and inclusion for our company globally,” Philip Morris managing director Nikitas Theophilopoulos said.

The company said it increased its female representation to 43 per cent in 2016, including three senior management positions, and a review found pay equity between male and female employees.

“For Philip Morris International, gender equality, and overall diversity and inclusion is not another business strategy, but an ethical commitment to our employees in order to create an environment which embraces differences in gender, age, nationality, sexual orientation, physical ability and thinking style,” Mr Theophilopoulos said.

“We are committed to providing a workplace where our diverse workforce feels respected and engaged to achieve their best for themselves and our organisation.”

The release of the WGEA’s “nice” list comes after last week’s “naughty” list, with 74 businesses named and shamed as “non-compliant”, including Kennards Self Storage, Bing Lee, Vittoria Coffee, Palace Cinemas, Sportsmans Warehouse and EB Games.

Kennards Self Storage managing director Sam Kennard described the WGEA, which employs five male and 25 female staff, as an organisation “dripping with hypocrisy” that “should be abolished”.

“My company does not discriminate for race, age, sex or religion, [but] we do discriminate against time-wasting bureaucracies,” Mr Kennard said.

“The WGEA is a prime example of unnecessary government intrusion into the activities of businesses. My business has much more productive endeavours to pursue than filling out paperwork for government agencies like the WGEA.”

In 2015, an international tribunal rejected a bid by Philip Morris to sue the government over Australia’s plain packaging laws, introduced in 2012, which cigarette manufacturers argue rob them of their intellectual property.

Philip Morris had sought to challenge the government using a 1993 trade deal between Australia and Hong Kong that included foreign investment protections, but the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled it had no jurisdiction over the case and described the attempt “an abuse of rights”.

At the time, then Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash welcomed the decision, describing plain packaging as a legitimate health measure.

“We welcome the unanimous decision by the tribunal agreeing with Australia’s position that it has no jurisdiction to hear Philip Morris’ claim,” Ms Nash said.

“Smoking does untold harm to Australians, causing deaths from cancer, lung and heart disease, and hurting families. The Coalition government has powered ahead with plain packaging and invested in reducing smoking rates across the board.”

Earlier this month, Philip Morris suggested it could eventually phase out cigarette sales altogether in favour of lower-risk products.

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