Probability governs this torture for a wage slave (3,2,8)
I believe the answer is:
law of averages
'probability' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'torture for a wage slave' is the wordplay.
'torture' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen 'torturing' mean this).
'for'+'a'+'wage'+'slave'='forawageslave'
'forawageslave' anagrammed gives 'LAW OF AVERAGES'.
'governs this' acts as a link.
This may not be correct. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for law of averages that I've seen before include "Theory of long-term corrective balances" , "What offers equity" , "Determination of a medial estimate or arithmetic mean" , "Supposition that things even out with time" , "Expectation that events occur as frequently as their odds dictate" .)