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1. In accordance with article 19 of the ILO Constitution, at its 334th Session in October–November 2018, the Governing Body decided that the General Survey to be prepared by the
Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) in 2020 and submitted to the International Labour Conference (Conference) in 2021 would
examine four instruments related to decent work for care economy workers in a changing  economy: the Nursing Personnel Convention (No. 149) and Recommendation (No. 157), 1977, and the Domestic Workers Convention (No. 189) and Recommendation (No. 201), 2011.1 The General Survey would provide a comprehensive survey of the situation in law and practice with respect to care workers, as related to Conventions Nos 149 and 189.

2. Following its decision, the Governing Body requested the Office to prepare a draft report form for the General Survey in relation to the above-referenced instruments. At its 335th Session in March 2020, the Governing Body adopted the report form to be used by Member States for their reports under article 19 of the ILO Constitution for the preparation of the
General Survey. Subsequently, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 110th Session of the Conference in 2020 was postponed. As a result, the preparation of the present General Survey was also put off until the 92nd Session of the CEACR (November–December 2021). The General Survey will be presented to the Conference in 2022.

3. In light of the discussions in the Governing Body in October–November 2018 and March 2019, the Committee of Experts has examined the instruments on nursing personnel and
domestic workers in the broader context of care work, which includes work involving direct and indirect care (such as childcare, health care, cleaning, cooking and other personal care
tasks such as dressing and bathing), and is performed primarily by women. For this reason, as requested by the Governing Body, special attention has been paid to the gender dimension of nursing, domestic work and care work more generally, as well as to the nature and impact of changes in the structure and organization of work in the care economy.