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<TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt_89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>1:14 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>33817.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>May 29, 2010
Foreigners thriving in funeral business
THE prospect of a better life in Singapore lures many here, although for most, the path to prosperity does not entail cleaning bodies and carrying coffins.
But it seems the funeral game is no different from construction and rig-building - locals spurn the work so bosses bring in willing foreigners, in this case Chinese pallbearers and Filipino embalmers.
It is work that many shy away from but it does not faze the bespectacled Madam Zhao Shu E, who could pass as your average housewife if not for the bulging biceps under her modest white blouse.
Madam Zhao, 34, is one of four foreign pallbearers at Union Casket, in Toa Payoh Industrial Park, who lift 100kg coffins on a daily basis. Managing director William Quek, 51, says growing demand has led him to hire two female and two male pallbearers from different parts of China over the past two years.
'Feedback from my customers showed a clear preference for female pallbearers, especially from the families of deceased females,' says Mr Quek.
'Singaporeans were unwilling to take up the job because of the gruelling hours and taboos associated with the industry, so I turned to an agent from China.'
Since he hired them in 2008, Union Casket has attended to more than 20 funerals involving families that specifically asked for female pallbearers.
'As females, they are also able to offer comfort and support without any awkwardness,' says Mr Quek. 'Families appreciate that.'
It's a win for the foreign workers as well.
Madam Zhao, a Dalian native, and her fellow countrymen earn nearly five times as much as they would at home, which helps dispel any queasiness about the job.
'Back in China, we get about $400 a month but here, we get $1,000 a month, before additional overtime pay, which can add up to nearly $2,000 in total,' says the mother of a nine-year-old girl.
Their duties include collecting bodies from hospital morgues, cleaning and dressing them, and delivering the occupied coffin to the wake premises.
Mr Quek says they are as competent as, if not more so than, local funeral staff. 'I pay them the same as what I would a Singaporean. And all of them have had experience carrying bodies, having worked in hospices and old-age homes,' he says.
Ms Jessica Teong, 24, whose female cousin's funeral was handled by Union Casket, appreciated the female pallbearers' sensitivity.
'They were very professional and treated the deceased and family with care and we felt more comfortable knowing her body was handled by females,' she says.
Foreign workers are also prominent in embalming, so much so that the trade here is dominated by Filipinos. All 10 major funeral providers say they use Filipino embalmers, both in-house and freelancers. Most come here after just three months of training at one of the many embalming schools in the Philippines.
Mr Felipe Feliciano Santos, 52, led the way when he arrived in 1974 after completing a year-long apprenticeship at Loyola, an embalming school in the Philippines. After a stint as an in-house embalmer at Trinity Casket, he now works as a freelance embalmer for five casket companies.
He says the number of Filipino embalmers here has nearly doubled in the past year alone.
'Out of the 10 or so Filipino embalmers working here today, four arrived here just last year,' says Mr Santos, who handles up to 50 corpses a month.
'There is definitely a demand for my countrymen, and it is a golden opportunity for us to come here.'
As it is for the Chinese pallbearers, money is the clincher.
The average pay of a freshly graduated embalmer in the Philippines is about 10,000 pesos (S$300) a month. The same work here brings upwards of $3,000.
They solve a huge headache for funeral company bosses, who simply cannot find Singaporeans to do the work.
There are said to be fewer than 10 Singaporean embalmers here, who are split into two distinct groups - those without formal training, who started off as embalming apprentices and picked up the trade on the job, and those who have professional qualifications.
The latter charge up to twice the amount the Filipino embalmers ask for, and mostly operate on a freelance basis.
'The few local embalmers who are well-qualified are mainly freelancers and we cannot just rely on them,' says Mr Ang Zi Qian, managing director of Ang Chin Moh Casket. 'We need full-timers on standby... to minimise complications for the families of the deceased.'
Ang Chin Moh employs two in-house Filipino embalmers and pays them each about $4,000 a month. Despite the increased foreign worker levy announced in February's Budget, Mr Ang will not be changing his hiring pattern any time soon.
'I will still employ them even if they become more expensive because it is really hard to find Singaporeans who are willing to do the job,' he says.
The lure of embalming has snared some unlikely candidates, including Japanese mortuary science graduate Ayako Chiba, 29, who studied funeral services and embalming techniques for four years at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in the US.
She came to Singapore last year to attend a restorative embalming lecture.
She currently works as a secretary in a Lasik Clinic in Japan but hopes to return to Singapore to work full-time as a funeral director. 'I found people here who really care about funeral services and want to do all they can for the deceased and their families,' she says.
Mr Santos certainly sees the benefits here. His wife and four sons, aged 20 to 26, joined him here two years ago and all became permanent residents recently.
'Two of my sons are also trained as embalmers, so I'm thinking of setting up an embalming business here with them,' says Mr Santos. 'The working conditions here are great.'
But reactions from local embalmers towards them are mixed.
Mr Aloysius Hoeden, 46, who has been chief embalmer at Direct Funeral Services for 18 years, says: 'As an in-house embalmer with one of the bigger funeral homes, I'm constantly busy handling cases. I am not affected by the new competition.'
But others like Total Care Bereavement Services' funeral director and embalmer Irene Heng, 57, say the spike in Filipino-trained embalmers discourages local entrants. 'It is almost impossible for a truly passionate professional to survive among all these foreigners. They are younger, work longer hours, and are hired based on salary,' she says.
Despite 'using higher-quality chemicals for proper care of the deceased', she says she has to charge the same rates for her embalming services in order to stay competitive these days.
Madam Heng has a diploma in embalming from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, where she spent six months in the classroom and another six on attachment.
'There is just no way to thrive in the midst of these foreigners,' she says. 'I have given up hope.'
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Foreigners thriving in funeral business
THE prospect of a better life in Singapore lures many here, although for most, the path to prosperity does not entail cleaning bodies and carrying coffins.
But it seems the funeral game is no different from construction and rig-building - locals spurn the work so bosses bring in willing foreigners, in this case Chinese pallbearers and Filipino embalmers.
It is work that many shy away from but it does not faze the bespectacled Madam Zhao Shu E, who could pass as your average housewife if not for the bulging biceps under her modest white blouse.
Madam Zhao, 34, is one of four foreign pallbearers at Union Casket, in Toa Payoh Industrial Park, who lift 100kg coffins on a daily basis. Managing director William Quek, 51, says growing demand has led him to hire two female and two male pallbearers from different parts of China over the past two years.
'Feedback from my customers showed a clear preference for female pallbearers, especially from the families of deceased females,' says Mr Quek.
'Singaporeans were unwilling to take up the job because of the gruelling hours and taboos associated with the industry, so I turned to an agent from China.'
Since he hired them in 2008, Union Casket has attended to more than 20 funerals involving families that specifically asked for female pallbearers.
'As females, they are also able to offer comfort and support without any awkwardness,' says Mr Quek. 'Families appreciate that.'
It's a win for the foreign workers as well.
Madam Zhao, a Dalian native, and her fellow countrymen earn nearly five times as much as they would at home, which helps dispel any queasiness about the job.
'Back in China, we get about $400 a month but here, we get $1,000 a month, before additional overtime pay, which can add up to nearly $2,000 in total,' says the mother of a nine-year-old girl.
Their duties include collecting bodies from hospital morgues, cleaning and dressing them, and delivering the occupied coffin to the wake premises.
Mr Quek says they are as competent as, if not more so than, local funeral staff. 'I pay them the same as what I would a Singaporean. And all of them have had experience carrying bodies, having worked in hospices and old-age homes,' he says.
Ms Jessica Teong, 24, whose female cousin's funeral was handled by Union Casket, appreciated the female pallbearers' sensitivity.
'They were very professional and treated the deceased and family with care and we felt more comfortable knowing her body was handled by females,' she says.
Foreign workers are also prominent in embalming, so much so that the trade here is dominated by Filipinos. All 10 major funeral providers say they use Filipino embalmers, both in-house and freelancers. Most come here after just three months of training at one of the many embalming schools in the Philippines.
Mr Felipe Feliciano Santos, 52, led the way when he arrived in 1974 after completing a year-long apprenticeship at Loyola, an embalming school in the Philippines. After a stint as an in-house embalmer at Trinity Casket, he now works as a freelance embalmer for five casket companies.
He says the number of Filipino embalmers here has nearly doubled in the past year alone.
'Out of the 10 or so Filipino embalmers working here today, four arrived here just last year,' says Mr Santos, who handles up to 50 corpses a month.
'There is definitely a demand for my countrymen, and it is a golden opportunity for us to come here.'
As it is for the Chinese pallbearers, money is the clincher.
The average pay of a freshly graduated embalmer in the Philippines is about 10,000 pesos (S$300) a month. The same work here brings upwards of $3,000.
They solve a huge headache for funeral company bosses, who simply cannot find Singaporeans to do the work.
There are said to be fewer than 10 Singaporean embalmers here, who are split into two distinct groups - those without formal training, who started off as embalming apprentices and picked up the trade on the job, and those who have professional qualifications.
The latter charge up to twice the amount the Filipino embalmers ask for, and mostly operate on a freelance basis.
'The few local embalmers who are well-qualified are mainly freelancers and we cannot just rely on them,' says Mr Ang Zi Qian, managing director of Ang Chin Moh Casket. 'We need full-timers on standby... to minimise complications for the families of the deceased.'
Ang Chin Moh employs two in-house Filipino embalmers and pays them each about $4,000 a month. Despite the increased foreign worker levy announced in February's Budget, Mr Ang will not be changing his hiring pattern any time soon.
'I will still employ them even if they become more expensive because it is really hard to find Singaporeans who are willing to do the job,' he says.
The lure of embalming has snared some unlikely candidates, including Japanese mortuary science graduate Ayako Chiba, 29, who studied funeral services and embalming techniques for four years at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in the US.
She came to Singapore last year to attend a restorative embalming lecture.
She currently works as a secretary in a Lasik Clinic in Japan but hopes to return to Singapore to work full-time as a funeral director. 'I found people here who really care about funeral services and want to do all they can for the deceased and their families,' she says.
Mr Santos certainly sees the benefits here. His wife and four sons, aged 20 to 26, joined him here two years ago and all became permanent residents recently.
'Two of my sons are also trained as embalmers, so I'm thinking of setting up an embalming business here with them,' says Mr Santos. 'The working conditions here are great.'
But reactions from local embalmers towards them are mixed.
Mr Aloysius Hoeden, 46, who has been chief embalmer at Direct Funeral Services for 18 years, says: 'As an in-house embalmer with one of the bigger funeral homes, I'm constantly busy handling cases. I am not affected by the new competition.'
But others like Total Care Bereavement Services' funeral director and embalmer Irene Heng, 57, say the spike in Filipino-trained embalmers discourages local entrants. 'It is almost impossible for a truly passionate professional to survive among all these foreigners. They are younger, work longer hours, and are hired based on salary,' she says.
Despite 'using higher-quality chemicals for proper care of the deceased', she says she has to charge the same rates for her embalming services in order to stay competitive these days.
Madam Heng has a diploma in embalming from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, where she spent six months in the classroom and another six on attachment.
'There is just no way to thrive in the midst of these foreigners,' she says. 'I have given up hope.'
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