I can see parts of both sides to this issue ... I work for a Non-Profit charitable outfit [no, we're not yet a Registered Charity] and that work is full of pitfalls.
All we can do is convince those we deal with that we are a proper organisation, that the money donated goes to a properly administered cause and all that sort of thing. If people don't feel comfortable about what we're doing, they are free to walk away and say "No thanks".
However, I will draw a distinction between our 'begging' in cyber-space [and on the the ground] with collecting at the workplace when there is a distinct and pre-existing conflict between those who supported strike action and those who didn't. Regardless of the wrongs and rights of the IA, and those who have suffered in consequence [on both sides of the wire], it does seem to me a rather insensitive/inappropriate way of doing collections for one side of the dispute. I won't draw any direct religious parallels, but I guess you can imagine what I'm not typing.
Not a very good move, IMO.