A sum of £500m was pledged to be invested by Barclays into its pension fund, in an effort to counter the threatened strike action by employees who were agitated about the proposed closure of the bank's final salary scheme.

John Varley, Barclays' chief executive, on the last day of a two-month consultation, also proposed to reschedule the implementation of the proposed change by four months to the end of April.

It won't be wrong to say that the backlash resulted from the plan that included shutting the final salary scheme and transferring staff to an alternative, less lucrative, pension scheme, into which they would have to make contributions.

It was on Thursday, at a shareholder meeting, that the bank announced the concessions following rowdy protests from union members outside the meeting hall.

Under the originally-proposed changes to the scheme, the staff would have required to make contributions worth 3% of their salary.

Now the staff is being told by Varley that they are not required to make contributions until 2011, and later only at 1% a year. There is no need to pay the full 3% until April
2013.

Andrew Case, national secretary of Unite, said: "I'm by no means clear that it does go far enough. We are still at a stage where we are considering the implications. We are asking our members for feedback."

The union, which had hoped to save some elements of the final salary scheme, is preparing to ballot members on industrial action.

A shortfall by £3.5bn is held by Barclays in its pension fund, and the sum of £500m - which the bank is now planning to invest - is an increase on the £336m put in last year.