"The Prime Minister gave us a patient hearing and said he would get in touch with the Finance Minister to look into our demands," Convenor of the United Forum of Bank Unions, Prafullo Kumar Patnaik said after a 30-minute meeting the bank union leaders had with the Prime Minister.

The meeting assumes significance in the wake of the proposed three-day all India bank strike from March 28. The bank unions are scheduled to meet representatives of the Indian Banks Association in Mumbai on Tuesday in this regard.

Outlining the demands, the Delhi Convenor of United Forum of Bank Unions, V K Gupta said that the government should also agree to banks undertaking recruitment on compassionate ground in the event of the death of any employee.

The UFBU, comprising nine bank unions and representing over 10 lakh employees, has also asked the government to provide a second option for bank workers wanting to opt for the pension scheme.

Many employees did not join the pension scheme because of earlier stipulation that their years of services would factor in the number of days they go for a strike.

Earlier this month, the public sector banks organised a march to Parliament to press for their pension-related demands and other matters and said they proposed to go on strike.

They alleged that while workload has increased manifold, banks have put a ban on recruitment, leaving more than one lakh vacancies. This is forcing bank employees to work for extra hours without overtime.