OFFSHORE union RMT outlined a five point “crisis management” plan yesterday to rescue British jobs and infrastructure in the wake of the oil price slump to under $60 (£38.40) a barrel.

As politicians at Westminster and Holyrood lined up to offer tax cuts to rapacious North Sea oil businesses, RMT general secretary Mick Cash instead urged alternative interventions on jobs, investment, regulation, decommissioning and sustainability.

“If immediate action isn’t taken then we risk turning today’s crisis into longer term damage that would threaten the very core of our offshore industry,” Mr Cash warned.

But Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander appeared to have only one possible response to the oil price slump — tax cuts.

“Obviously we have started to reduce the headline rate of tax, and that is now in a downward path over the next few years,” he said.

“We have to accept that there is going to be significantly less tax from North Sea oil and gas.”

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon — who is facing calls for an inquiry into the Scottish government’s optimistic oil forecasting prior to the independence referendum — also demanded tax cuts.

“I think we need more from the UK government around tax incentives,” she said. 

“We need more detail about the implementation of the proposed new investment allowance, we need to be supporting exploration.”

But Mr Cash urged “politicians north and south of the border and from all sides” to intervene.

“With tens of thousands of jobs at stake, along with the prospect of lasting damage to infrastructure, production capacity and the safety culture, intervention is absolutely critical,” he said. 

RMT already has “major concerns” about the impact of cost-cutting across the sector with workers from Total, Apache, Shell and others complaining that terms and conditions are to be cut and shift patterns altered.

Mr Cash warned that vital redevelopment and refurbishment projects will be “delayed indefinitely as investment dries up,” that the Health and Safety Executive “will be stretched to maximum capacity trying to deal with the introduction of the new EU Offshore Safety Directive,” that the sustainability of production is “at risk” and that the British taxpayer faces a bill of up to £30 billion for decommissioning.