Trade unions of Italian petrochemical and plastics producer Versalis gathered again across Italy this week to protest unconfirmed plans by its corporate parent, energy giant Eni, to sell 70% of the company to US private equity fund SK Capital Partners of New York.

The unions point to statements by the Italian government, suggesting that this is the plan. Eni thus far has been mum. The initial impetus for the protest action on Jan. 20, before the name of the potential buyer cropped up, was yet another crisis session held by the Italian Ministry for Economic Development in Rome on Jan. 12 to discuss the prospects for Versalis’ future.

At the meeting, the Eni leadership only reconfirmed its announcement of December 2015 that it plans to search for a partner or buyer for Versalis, while retaining “a significant stake.”

The strategy of Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi, in the position since 2014, foresees a concentration on oil and gas exploration rather than processing, and he is keen on unloading as many downstream assets as possible.

Versalis has suffered for years from the protracted decline of Italy’s plastics production sector. According to one of the previous Eni announcements, the company’s sites in northern Italy were foreseen to become a hub for renewable chemicals and plastics, such as that already established at Porto Torres in Sardinia. Last year, these plans took a backseat when Eni started up an idled cracker to fill the – now nearly closed gap – in European supply left by unplanned outages across the continent. The unions point out that nothing has been heard of them since.