Some meagre wages increased (4)
I believe the answer is:
grew
'increased' is the definition.
(growing is a kind of increasing)
'some meagre wages' is the wordplay.
'some' says the answer is hidden in the clue (some of the parts of the word are used).
'GREW' is hidden in the letters of 'meagre wages'.
(Other definitions for grew that I've seen before include "Got larger" , "Got bigger" , "Increased in size" , "Cultivated'" , "Became larger" .)