Staff cutting wages is a travesty (6)
I believe the answer is:
parody
'travesty' is the definition.
('parody' can be a synonym of 'travesty')
'staff cutting wages' is the wordplay.
'staff' becomes 'rod' (I've seen this before).
'cutting' is an insertion indicator (some letters cut their way into a word).
'wages' becomes 'pay' (I've seen this before).
'rod' put within 'pay' is 'PARODY'.
'is a' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for parody that I've seen before include "Satire - burlesque" , "a lampoon or comic imitation" , "Satirical imitation" , "Send up" , "Skit" .)